Move Along
by Faythren
Summary: 2007 movie but very, very AU. Ari Witwicky is an only child living with her cruel, alcoholic father and dreams of the day she can finally get away. She gets her chance when the car she buys turns out to be one of a pair of twin robotic aliens. Ari is the only one who can help the Autobots and they are the only ones who can help her. SideswipexOC (Better summary inside)
1. The Tugging of Destiny

_**Author's Note**_

_Disclaimer: I'm only going to say this once, I do not own anything Transformers, just my OCs. Oh, and I got the idea for my title from a song called "Move Along" by The All-American Rejects._

_To friends of old: If you were hoping the next thing I was going to do was a sequal to my Rise of the Guardians fic Snowfall, then I am sorry to disappoint you. I blame all of the Transformer fanfic I read over the summer. This plot has been bugging me for the longest time and my brain just won't let me ignore it any longer.  
_

_To any new readers of mine: Hello! :D  
_

_A warning to all: THIS MAY BE SET IN THE 2007 MOVIE BUT IT IS VERY, VERY, MUCH AU!_

_Okay, so like I said, this plot has been bugging me for a while. I already knew I wanted to do a SideswipexOC story cause I just love the twins. I remember watching the cartoons when I was little, although I admit, I was so little I don't remember all that much, but the twins have always been some of my favorites and that love was renewed when I was reading Transformers fanfic over the summer. What further led to this story was my dislike for Sam. 1. He's a wuss. 2. He went from not being that bad in the first movie, especially with the whole "Fifty years from now, when you're looking back at your life, don't you want to be able to say you had the guts to get in the car?" thing and he seemed really excited about being apart of everything and being able to keep Bee as his guardian in the end, then in the second movie he wanted nothing to do with them and wanted a normal life (I was like "What the slag are you doing?! I would give anything for the kind of opportunity you had!"), and then in the third movie, all of a sudden, it was like he wanted back in. Yeah, just all of that really irked me. And 3. Well...Sam is a complete wuss. So I decided he needed to go._

_Since I decided to get rid of Sam and put in my own OC in his place it left me with many opportunities to change things which I will now list here:_

_1. The main character's home life is VERY different. She has a dad but the mom is gone. And her dad isn't so nice. I left names the same, but personalities are going to be different. Everything with her great great grandfather finding Megatron and stuff is going to be the same though._

_2. No Miles_

_3. No Mikaela_

_4. Sides and Sunny show up in the beginning for the first movie_

_5. No Bumblebee (Sorry Bee fans, but since I wanted SidesxOC I decided to completely replace Bee with Sides and Sunny. I promise he'll show up by the time I get to the section with the second movie though. Basically he'll show up when Sides was supposed to.)_

_6. Number 1 is going to affect where she ends up after the first movie_

_7. She's going to become very close to Lennox cause he's awesome :)_

_8. Fun with Allspark stuff, and I promise, the ideas I have for the Allspark have not been done yet_

_With all of that said here is the **Extended Summery** I promised:_

**_Ari Witwicky is an only child living with her divorced father. He's cruel and an alcoholic, making her life very miserable. All Ari dreams of is the day she can finally get away. She gets her chance when the car she buys turns out to be a robotic alien by the name of Sideswipe with a twin brother, Sunstreaker. From there her life turns into a roller coaster ride with Ari finding out she is the only one who can help the Autobots. And maybe they are the only ones who can save her. SidesxOC_ **

_Now, I do plan on going through all of the movies, although I'm debating on not doing the third one at all since my OC is going to end up in a very different place than Sam did by then and just skipping to doing my own thing, but I figured I'll just play it by ear and see what happens. I'm also not sure if I'm going to keep it all together or put it into separate stories but I'll let you guys know when I decide._

_Anyway, enough of me blabbing. Hopefully you guys aren't now deterred from reading my story. I promise, you won't regret it!_

_Now, without further adieu: _

_Onward!_

* * *

_**The Tugging of Destiny**_

Ari tries to get her tired body to move faster as she cleans off the last few booths at Hal's Diner, mechanically picking up abandoned dinner plates and wiping the linoleum table tops as clean as they're going to get. The time is reaching 7 at night. She's been working since 6 am and Saturday has always been one of their busier days. Ari wants nothing more than to pick up her paycheck and go home. The thought of going home doesn't even scare her at the moment. This is the last check she needs, after almost an entire year of working at Hal's, before she will have a total of $4,500 saved up, enough to get at least a fairly decent used car.

After depositing the last of the dishes by the kitchen sink Ari wipes her sweaty brow with the sleeve of her white long-sleeved t-shirt she wears underneath her blue work shirt, hangs up her apron, and then approaches Hal, a heavyset fellow with thinning black hair, a bit of a stubble on his chin, and the owner of the classic 70's style diner. The man notices her and turns away from the register to face her, check already in hand.

"Heading home, Ari?" he asks.

"Yep, just need my paycheck," Ari replies with a polite smile as he hands her the slip of paper. "So, are you going to be needing any help for the late shifts on weekends?"

Hal sighs in exasperation, "Look, Ari, I already told you. You may be one of my hardest workers but I don't like the idea of you taking the bus home at ten 'o clock at night."

"I know, but with this paycheck I'll be able to afford a car now. Hopefully I can get it tomorrow on my day off. Then I won't have to take the bus anymore."

"If you can afford a car now, then why are you asking for more hours? What else could you possibly be saving up for?"

Ari rolls her eyes. "College doesn't pay for itself, Hal. I may only be at the end of my sophomore year but I got to start saving up now if I'm ever going to afford it."

He raises a brow. "What, the old man won't pay for it for you? You said you dad's a banker or something, right? He should have plenty of money to send you."

She inwardly winces but keeps her face neutral and voice even. She lies automatically, well practiced and without flaw. "Yeah, he does work over at the bank, but paying for college by myself is something I want to do." The first part is true. The last, not so much.

Hal laughs and shakes his head. "That's mighty responsible of you, kid. Alright, since you'll have your own car I'll let you have the extra hours on the weekends. I might even give you some weekday ones once school lets out. This is the last week coming up before summer, right?"

She gives him a rare grin that, for once, reaches her pale blue eyes. "Thank you, Hal! You're the best!"

Hal reaches out to give her a pat on the head but Ari unintentionally winces and takes a step back with averted eyes. Hal just shakes his head again in confusion. Every time someone tries to touch Ari she shies away. No one really knows why and she's determined to keep it that way.

Hal clears his throat in an attempt to clear the sudden tension. "Well, have a good night, Ms. Witwicky. And good luck tomorrow."

She nods, expression passive. "Thanks." Ari then grabs her messenger bag, waves her boss goodbye, and heads out the door.

The warm Nevada night enwraps Ari like a fleece blanket, her long-sleeved shirt making her almost overly hot. She's tempted to roll up her sleeves in order to let the gentle breeze help cool her skin, but she dares not. Too many people are still wandering around the streets and the setting sun casts too much light. The shadows stretch out to greet her, but it is not enough. Someone may see. And if someone sees, then her father, Ron, will find out. And if Ron finds out she will be lucky if she survives the punishment.

Ari approaches the bus stop just in time to catch the 7:15 bus. She climbs aboard, pays the fare, and settles into one of the plastic seats for the fifteen minute ride to the stop just two blocks from her house. The distance would normally take her a good two hours to walk and she can't wait until she has a car to drive herself with seats far more comfortable than what she sits in now.

Too bad she still has so much more to endure in order to get it.

* * *

Everything is quiet when Ari enters the two story suburban house her and her father live in. The lights are off and there is no car in the driveway, which really isn't surprising. Ron is still probably at the bar. As she picks her way across the floor, which is littered with beer bottles, she wonders if he will be coming home tonight, both hoping so and dreading it. The thing is, if he doesn't come home tonight, then she probably won't be able to go get her car tomorrow. The only reason she needs him to go with her at all is because she is only sixteen and can't sign for the car title without an adult to cosign with her.

When Ari reaches the stairs to head up to her room she notices a bra, not her own since it is larger than her small A cup, hanging on the banister, probably "accidentally" left from the girl Ron brought home the night before.

Oh how she can't wait for her eighteenth birthday when she'll be a legal adult and can get away from this place.

Once in her room Ari places her bag on her desk chair and plops down on her bed lying on her back so she's staring up at the ceiling. It's a fairly plain room, twin sized bed with silver and blue bedspread along one wall underneath a window that overlooks the backyard, dresser and vanity mirror on the right against the same wall as the door, desk on the left underneath another window that looks out at the space between her yard and the next with a fence dividing them. Very few personal items, just a laptop, some books, and a picture of her mom that are kept stored in her closet out of sight. She learned long ago that anything precious to her is likely to be destroyed if left out in the open.

Ari's not sure why she keeps the photo of her mom, a vibrant woman with big eyes and reddish-brown hair, the same hair Ari inherited. Her mom, Judy, left ten years ago. Just packed her bags, kissed Ari on the head, and left her daughter and husband behind. Divorce papers were sent in the mail not long after. Her father then turned to alcohol to drown out his sorrow. Ari was too young at the time to understand what was happening. She remembers going up to her father one night, who was lying on the couch surrounded by bottles, and asking why her mom hasn't come home yet.

That's when Ron realized the drinking wasn't enough to mask all of the sadness and anger. He needed something else to take it all out on.

He hit her, shouting that Judy left with another man because she was ashamed to have such a disgraceful daughter.

How much of that is true, Ari doesn't know. Every time she tries to ask it sets her father off. She rolls up her sleeves looking at the black and blue skin of her arms. Not a day goes by that she doesn't have at least a dozen fresh bruises covering her body, forcing her to constantly wear long sleeves and jean pants, no matter the weather. There are even a few scars from when Ron used a knife a few times.

Ari sighs and gets up, grabbing her laptop so she can start on her homework. It's not much of homework, really, just mostly studying. Exams start this week and she's not sure how much studying she'll be able to do after tomorrow. It all depends on Ron. As she waits for her computer to boot up she pulls out her phone and uses her bank app to deposit her check into her bank account so that everything is ready for when she writes out the check to pay for her car tomorrow.

_It'll be worth it_, she tells herself. _No matter what he dishes out, it'll be worth it. With a car I'll have more freedom. Things won't be as bad._

After about two hours of studying Ari hears the front door slam shut causing the house walls to reverberate with the force. She winces. It's only 9:45. He's home early. That's both good and bad. Good because it means she can talk to him now about going to get a car tomorrow and he will refrain from getting himself plastered before they head out to the dealership. Bad because it means that he struck out with getting a girl tonight and/or got himself kicked out of the bar. He's going to be in an even fouler mood than usual.

Ari takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly and slightly shaky.

"Arianna Samantha Witwicky, get down here right now!" Ron calls, the volume and anger of his voice scaring her.

_Well, best to get this over with. I already know he is very capable of breaking down my door when he wants to._

Ari exits her bedroom and heads downstairs to find her father, a short man with balding brown hair and a large beer belly, standing in the middle of the living room looking around at the floor at the dozens of beer bottles scattered about. He sways on his feet slightly from his night at the bar, almost slipping on the glass containers beneath his feet. It's a miracle he didn't crash on the way home.

"Did you need something?" Ari asks, her voice hollow and emotionless.

"Yeah," Ron says with a slight slur as he points a finger at her and continues to tilt back and forth on his feet. "Clean up this mess you made."

She sighs and does as she's told, grabbing up a garbage bag and clearing out all of the beer bottles. When she returns from taking out the garbage she finds her father sitting on the couch watching some random sitcom with another beer in his hand. She stands a few feet away from him unsure as to how to start this conversation.

Ron glances at her out of the corner of his eye. "If you have something to say, say it."

She bites her lip. "I've saved up enough money to buy a car. You promised that when I do…you will go with me to buy one, so…can we go tomorrow? It's Sunday."

His brow furrows in concentration, his drunken mind struggling ever having such a conversation. After a few moments his face clears and a devilish smile graces his lips. "You remember your part of the bargain, right?"

Ari gulps. "Y-yes."

"And you plan on upholding your part of the bargain, correct."

She nods, not trusting her voice anymore.

Ron nods triumphantly. "Then yes, we can go get you a car tomorrow. Be up by ten. I want to be at the bar by happy hour but I still want to be able to take my time with you."

A shiver runs down Ari's spine as she heads back to her room.

_Tomorrow is going to be a very long day._

* * *

The next day, Ari and her father drive up to the used car lot they had discussed getting her car from all those months ago. It's not the best selection in the world but so long as it's got four wheels, an engine, and won't give out on her right away she'll be happy.

Ron, dressed up in a collared shirt and slacks, always looking the presentable, accomplished head of his family and responsible father when around others, goes up to talk to "Uncle Bobby B" while Ari starts to browse the cars. Most of them look like crap. Then she starts to feel a weird sensation in her chest, almost like tugging. She wonders if she's imagining things but decides to follow it anyway to be sure.

What she finds takes her breath away.

It's a red, sleek, old-fashioned sports car with black racing strips zipping from the hood to the bumper of the car.

Ari already knows it's perfect.

She opens the driver's side door and sits behind the wheel, the plush leather seats seeming to mold perfectly to her body. After closing the door she grips the steering wheel. She notices a strange insignia in the center of the wheel on the car horn, an odd, geometric-looking head. Before she can wonder too much about it Ron comes up beside her and looks in through the open window.

"Nice," he says, sounding impressed. "This is a 1989 Corvette Base Hatchback. Haven't seen one of these in a long time."

"Yeah…Hatchback…," the car dealer says absentmindedly. "Yeah, what is this? What the _heck_ is this? I don't know nothing about this car!"

He argues with his associate about the seemingly random car in his car lot but Ari interrupts him. "How much?"

The dealer looks back at her, shrugs his shoulders, looks over the car, and then looks back at her. "Five thousand."

Ari curses under her breath. "I can't pay much over four thousand. Can't you go a little lower?"

"Sorry, kid. Can't help you if you're going to be a cheapskate. It's five thousand or no deal."

She sighs heavily and gets out of the car. Running a hand longingly along the hood she goes to follow the dealer and her father to look at another car. The disappointment settles heavy in her chest. There is just something about that car that feels…special to her. Like it's destiny.

Suddenly a high-pitched wailing sounds from behind them. They all turn to see all of the cars' glass explode. Ari yelps and ducks, covering her head with her arms to protect herself from flying shards. When the sound stops they look around, dumbfounded. All of the windows in all of the cars are completely shattered.

All except for the Hatchback.

The car dealer turns to her, holding up four shaking fingers, "Four thousand."

* * *

Driving her new car home is like a dream. The purr of the engine is so smooth Ari knows there is probably a really nice piece of machinery underneath that hood, although it's not like she knows enough about cars to be able to tell the difference anyway. Just everything about the Hatchback seems so much nicer than what it looks like on the outside.

"Maybe I should think about putting some money aside for a new paint job," Ari says to herself as she pulls into the driveway next to Ron. "Then you'll look really beautiful."

A pleasant heat and electrical charge vibrate the steering wheel and into Ari's hands, almost as if the car really is purring. Almost as if the idea of a new paint job is something the Hatchback is excited about. But before Ari's mind can question what just happened Ron yells at her to get in the house and he turns to head for the front door.

She gulps as she takes the keys out of the ignition. "I really don't want to face him." She looks down at the wheel, stroking the strange insignia with her forefinger. "But if I don't he'll take you away from me."

Ari leans forward to press her forehead against the top of the wheel with a heavy sigh.

What if she turns the car back on and peels rubber out of the driveway right now, leaving this house, her father, and her miserable life behind once and for all? She wouldn't have to put up with him anymore. Not the abuse. Not the cuts. Not the touches to her body. He's never done much, not even going beyond the barrier of her clothes, but they have started to become more and more frequent the older she gets. It's starting to scare her. Especially the nights when he fails to get a girl.

And she promised him that he can do whatever he wants to her if he helps her get a car. Punch her. Kick her. Slice up her skin. Anything, so long as she doesn't need to go to the hospital afterwards. And she won't protest. She won't struggle. She won't cry out. She'll just lay there and take it, allowing him complete domination.

But he really wouldn't do anything like…_that_…right? She's his daughter, no matter how much he seems to hate her. It would be incest. Certainly that fact disgusts him as much as it does her. It'll keep him from going too far.

Right?

"Arianna Samantha Witwicky, get in the house! _Now!_" Ron cries from the doorway of the house.

Ari sighs one last time and exits the safety of the Hatchback to go meet her fate.

* * *

Sideswipe watches his charge enter the house with worry flowing through his circuits.

He and Sunstreaker arrived on the strangely beautiful planet just yesterday. The plan had been to simply follow her around and make sure the Decepticons didn't try anything before the other Autobots arrived, but when they found out she was going to buy a car the twins decided it would be easier if one of them posed as her new car.

Unfortunately, the place she went to get her new car from was a complete dump.

They argued about it for a while and in the end Sideswipe relented to scanning a beat-up car to become her Guardian. He hates all of the dirt clinging to his frame and the fading paint. And this form definitely can't go as fast as what he would like.

He's sure Sunstreaker is parked somewhere nearby in his sweet Lamborghini Gallardo alt mode laughing at him right now.

But there is nothing Sideswipe can do about it now. Sunstreaker never would have agreed to become the girl's car. Not only would transforming into a piece of crap car kill him but he finds the very idea of a "dirty, slagging human" riding in his interior disgusting. All Sideswipe can do now is wait it out and, as soon as he can, choose an alt mode so sweet his brother will be forever jealous.

In the meantime all he has to do is protect his new charge. Ari. Arianna, that man had called her, her parental unit, her "father" as humans call them. It's a very beautiful name. Sideswipe wonders where her "mother" is. And why was her father so mad at her? And why did she not want to go face him?

"_Hey, Sunny?"_ Sideswipe calls out through his sibling bond with his twin.

"_What did I say about you calling me that, Sides?"_ he brother grounds out a moment later.

Sideswipe chuckles. _"Oh, come on, Sunny, you know it doesn't really bother you that much."_

Sunny growls. _"Whatever."_

"_Anyway, I think something might be going on here,"_ Sides says seriously.

"_What, is there a Decepticon? Do you need backup?"_

"_No, it's not that. It's just that Ari was saying to herself how she didn't want to go face her father, her parental unit."_

"_Oh, great, the slagging human we have to watch is crazy."_

"_Sunny,"_ Sides says disapprovingly. _"She's not crazy. It was more like she was trying to talk herself into doing something she really doesn't want to do. Like she was _scared_ to face her father. What would make her scared of her parental unit?"_

Sunny is silent for a long time. _"I don't know. Could be anything. Just keep a close optic on her._

Sideswipe sighs. "_I will, although it's not like I can hear much of what is going on inside the house."_

"_Well, so long as she doesn't scream or anything then chances are she's fine."_

"_Yeah, you're probably right."_

"_Alright, I'm going to go see if I can find a secluded area for when I send out the beacon to Optimus tonight. You going to be good here?"_

"_Yeah, I'm fine. How long will it take the others to get here again?"_

"_About a couple of Earth days. No more than three."_

"_Okay. Good luck and call me if you run into any 'Cons."_

"_You too."_

* * *

**_Author's Note  
_**

_Yay, first chapter done! As you can see, things are very different for Ari than they were for Sam. Yes, her dad abuses her. I warn you now, it's going to get pretty bad. I didn't say anything in the other Author's Note cause really nothing happened yet and I wanted it to be a surprise, but from now on when she gets abused, for those of you who may want to skip over those parts, I will place a warning in the Author's Note at the beginning of the chapter. Again, things are going to get pretty bad for Ari so I'm warning you now. No, it won't be as bad as what she fears most, but it gets...close. *sigh* What can I say, I'm very mean to my characters I've made Ron one sick dude.  
_

_Oh, and just to let you guys know, I am in school and my school work takes priority, so I'm probably only going to update once a month unless I get pretty far ahead of myself. I'll try to keep it consistent, updating around the last week of every month. Just thought I'd let you guys know._

_Alright that's it for now. Hope you enjoyed, PLEASE REVIEW (I really want to know what you guys thought of this), and see you all next time!_


	2. Unwanted

_**Author's Note  
**_

_Hello everyone! The first chapter had an amazing turn out. My phone was going off every few minutes during those first few hours of posting telling me I had a favorite/follow/review. Thank you all so much for your love and support so early on in the creation of this story. It makes me so happy that you all like it already and you don't even know a whole lot about what's going to happen yet. As a reward, you get the next chapter extremely early!_

_Anyway, now I think I shall do something that I didn't do for Snowfall and that's take the time to respond to your reviews! So here we go:_

_**FourHorses: ** I know right? Sam is just...ugh. I'm glad that they're starting fresh with someone new for the next movie that's coming out. He just doesn't deserve it anymore._

_**Cloud-Dancer103:** Yeah, I was kind of nervous about if people would like it or not, but you're right. Writing for me is what's really important, because I have fun._

_**Skyress98: ** Thanks and don't worry. Not stopping anytime soon._

_**ChemicalEquinox:** Lol. Yes, I know. With the terror twins as her guardians things are going to get interesting. Eventually, she shall learn the ways of pranking. (Sorry Ratchet and Ironhide). And if you have no life, then I don't either._

_**Bee4ever:** Don't worry, he'll be there._

_**TigerLilly1995:** I'm glad I made it to your top three so early on. Hopefully I can move up in the ranks._

_**oblivion-blade-princess:** I know, I'm so horrible to Ari, but Sides and Sunny are there for her. They will be there when she needs them._

_**lilbit of libit: ** Yeah, I like Sides and Sunny a lot too. Always have, always will._

_**Guest:** Lol I'm glad you love it. ^_^_

_**SunnySides:** Don't worry, obviously I'll probably be able to update more often than that. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't making any promises I couldn't keep._

_**MusicCheerLove: ** Hopefully this chapter holds up to your expectations. :)_

_**Dragon of Yin and Yang:** Yeah, I have a lot of ideas written out for this, all the way through the first movie so far. It's going to be one wild ride._

_** Ms. Tony Stark:** Why thank you. ^_^_

_Alright, enough chitchat. Onward!_

* * *

_**Unwanted**_

Ari's eyes are bleary and bloodshot when she wakes to the beeping of her alarm on Monday morning. She glances at the red digital numbers of the clock sitting on her desk. 5 am. School starts at 7:30. She has to check on her new wounds to make sure they are healing properly and without infection. Then she has to apply new bandages, get ready for school, most likely skip breakfast yet again because the first part of her morning is going to take forever, and make it to the bus stop by 6:30.

_Wait…I don't have to ride the bus. I have a car now._

A smile graces her lips, small and barely there, but still a large difference from her mood last night when she cried herself to sleep.

Getting out of bed proves to be a grueling task as Ari's new, extensive array of bruises and cuts cause her body to tense up in pain. Once she is upright she stands still for a few moments waiting for the pain to fade. When it is bearable she hobbles over to her dresser, chooses from her limited wardrobe of long-sleeved shirts and tattered jeans, and creeps down the hall to the bathroom. With the door securely locked she strips out of her tank top and shorts, nighttime being, sadly, the only time she is able to wear clothes that aren't warm, and starts to peel off her many bandages.

Ari looks at herself in the mirror. She has many, many more bruises from when Ron punched and kicked her. He never hits her face, thankfully, since it would be harder to hide, but every other inch of her is free reign that he took full advantage of. She already had six scars in various places on her arms and legs. Now, about a dozen more cuts have joined them. Her father really favored the kitchen knife this time. He usually only cuts her when he is really angry. What caused such anger this time she is unsure of, but suspects something may have happened at work recently.

With a deep breath Ari lowers her eyes to her stomach, recalling how her father lifted up her shirt to expose the flat plain of flesh. It's the first time he's ever removed her clothes in anyway, although he went no further than her stomach. Still, the memory of how his grubbing fingers caressed her smooth skin feels too real even now, twisting her stomach into knots.

Then he picked up the knife again and in small, neat letters gouged the word "unwanted" into her body just a few inches above her belly button. Ari can already tell it is going to scar.

She still remembers the words he whispered into her ear as he restrained her wrists and ankles to the posts of his bed with belts so tight they left red marks.

"You are unwanted," he said. "Unwanted by everyone. We all know it. Your mother knows it. That's why she left. I know it. That's why I beat you every day. I make sure to beat it into you. Now, now I will carve it into you so that you won't ever forget."

Ari is unwanted. She doesn't need to be reminded; she knows that well enough already.

Her entire body is tense and aching so she decides to take a shower, the warm water flowing over her skin, her wounds, her memories, and washing everything down the drain. When the faucet finally has no more warm water to give she gets out, gingerly towels herself dry, redresses all of her wounds, and pulls on undergarments, a red long-sleeved shirt, bootcut jeans, and her favorite black Converses.

Ari's mind keeps telling her that she's running late, but she knows she has plenty of time what with having a car now. She even has enough time to grab some breakfast for once.

With a couple of S'mores Pop-tarts filling her up and her messenger bag on her shoulder Ari walks out to her car, excited to be driving it to school for the first time. All of the bad gets shoved to the back of her mind. Right now, behind the wheel of the Hatchback, Ari can pretend for at least a little while that things are okay. She can pretend the road she is driving down isn't the one heading towards school, but out of town. Away from her father and all of the abuse she faces. She can pretend that, somewhere out there, she will find a place where she really will be wanted.

* * *

Sideswipe finds someone else dictating where he drives to be the strangest feeling he has ever experienced. He can't take over the controls and drive for Ari himself, no matter how much he wants to. Optimus told him and Sunny that they are to keep watch over her and not to reveal themselves before he and the others arrive unless absolutely necessary. And that doesn't include the slight discomfort of not being the mech behind the wheel.

Oh how he wishes a 'Con would show up right now.

Ari turns the wheel to move them around a corner and she inhales sharply, wincing. Sides instantly focuses on his charge. Her face is contorted in pain and she's holding an arm across her stomach. He scans her and finds that, although his scans are not as thorough as Ratchet the Hatchet's, he is still able to tell that she has been injured recently. Now that he's thinking about it she had been limping when she came out of the house.

First she's afraid of her parental unit and now this? Just what is going on with this human girl?

"_Sunny, something's wrong_,_"_ Sides says to his brother.

"_If it's not a 'Con I don't care, Sides,"_ is Sunstreaker's half-sparked reply.

"_Sunny, we're supposed to be protecting this girl and she's hurt and I have no idea why."_

A sigh sounds through the bond. "_Hurt how? Are we talking paper cut, bruised knee, severed limb?"_

"_Severed limb? What the frag, Sunny? I mean she's limping and she's obviously in pain but I don't have a fragging clue why. I don't see anything wrong but it's not like I can tell because of those clothes things humans insist on wearing."_

"_Did you hear anything last night?"_

"_No, I didn't. That's what I don't understand. She can barely move without hurting. Something _must_ have happened, but she didn't cry out or call for help."_

"_Sides, just don't worry about it. It's not like you can do anything anyway. Unless she's in immediate danger we're not supposed to interfere."_

"_I know!"_ Sideswipes shouts, waves of anger being sent across the bond. Subconsciously, he starts to drive faster, not noticing until he feels Ari repeatedly pressing on his brake pedal with growing anxiety. Slowly he forces himself to calm down and gives full control back to the human in his interior. _"I know,"_ he says much quieter this time. _"It's just…I feel so useless. I want to protect her and not just from the Decepticons. She's hurting, Sunny, and it's more than just on the outside. She's hurting inside, too. I can see it in her optics, er, eyes. Something else is going on with her and we just don't know it."_

* * *

Ari arrives at school with fifteen minutes to spare before the first bell rings. The student parking lot is pretty packed but she manages to find an open spot towards the back. Once parked she gets out of the car and admires the Hatchback. It was such a sweet ride, the only problem she noticed was the gas pedal sometimes being a tad too sensitive, but other than that Ari is very happy with her purchase. Giving the hood one final pat she heads towards the three-story building that is Tranquility High School, the white stone making it look more like a prison than a place for learning.

She doesn't make it five steps before a large body is suddenly in front of her blocking her path. Her muscles automatically tense up from the close proximity and she takes a step back. Looking up she sees the cocky face of Trent DeMarco with his large arms crossed in front of his equally large chest.

"What's up, Short Stuff?" he says haughtily, his eyes roaming up and down her body.

Ari's hands tightly grasp the strap of her messenger bag crossed across her chest. "Leave me alone, Trent," she says in a quiet voice.

"Aw, come on, Short Stuff, I just wanna talk." He takes a step closer to her, causing Ari to take another step back.

"Well, I don't want to talk. I just want to get to class. Don't you have a girlfriend you should be talking to instead anyway?"

Trent moves his weight from one foot to the other in discomfort and tries to cover it up with an arrogant smile. "Nah, I, um, dumped her. She couldn't keep up with the likes of me."

Ari rolls her eyes. She decides to state the obvious, "You mean _she_ broke up with _you_."

Trent stutters at her calling him out, trying to come up with a clever way to deny it but Ari cuts him off.

"And now you want to get into some other girl's pants to get back at her. Sorry, but I'm really not interested in helping you with your revenge sex, so please, go ask someone else and leave me alone. I'm sure there are plenty of other girls who would be more than happy to help you."

Two of Trent's friends, Mark and Daniel, who had walked up with him snicker behind him while Trent just stands there with a deep blush on his face. Ari takes that as her cue and goes to move around him.

When she takes a step Trent's humiliation turns to anger. He reaches a hand out to tightly grasp her wrist causing Ari to hiss in pain. His fingers are right around one of her fresh cuts.

He yanks her closer, towering over her five-foot-two frame, taking full advantage of the reason he calls her "Short Stuff" to glare down at her menacingly.

Ari cringes, trying to pull away, but he is so much stronger than her. He's even stronger than Ron and she can almost never get away from her father when her safety depends on it.

"Don't think for one second," he grounds out darkly, "that you can embarrass me like that and get away with."

A car suddenly revs loudly right next to them causing everyone to jump and turn, thinking they are about to get run over since they are still standing in the middle of the school parking lot.

What they see is Ari's Hatchback still sitting stationary in its spot with its engine roaring almost angrily, headlights flashing as if a warning light, despite the car keys being in Ari's front pocket.

Trent scowls at the car then at Ari before shoving her into the hood of her car. Ari barely manages to catch herself before she falls to the asphalt.

"Looks like the ugly retard needs to get her retarded car fixed," Trent calls out patronizingly and he and his friends laugh at her before turning to leave.

The Hatchback growls again, almost in answer, and then all is silent. Ari sighs in relief.

_That could have been bad. Why didn't I just keep my big mouth shut? And then there's my car. _She looks the Hatchback questioningly._ How in the world did you just turn on by yourself like that? Faulty wiring maybe?_

She contemplates the possibility that her car is alive, like Herbie, but that's just a silly thought.

The first bell rings and Ari curses under her breath, the only thoughts left in her mind getting to her locker then to her first period class on time before the five minutes between bells is up.

* * *

The rest of the school day is uneventful, mostly just teachers going over what to expect on their exams and the finalizing of schedules for fall semester. Ari signed up for mostly AP courses to help her as much as possible to get into a good college.

After school is work at Hal's Diner with the normal fifteen minute walk amounting to only a two minute drive thanks to the Hatchback.

Ari loves her car. Even if it decides to freak out on her every once in a while.

Once at Hal's, however, things aren't so cheery again.

It is an extremely busy afternoon, more so than usual, leaving Ari with barely enough time to breathe. Every time she even thinks about sitting down for just a second more customers come in that she has to get the orders from or more people leave and she has to bus the tables. Suffice to say, by the time seven rolls around Ari is ready to go home. All of her muscles, which were already aching from her bruises, now ache even more and several of her cuts are stinging again including the ones on her stomach. She hopes they haven't reopened and are bleeding again.

But the worst thing about her day happens just when she is about to get off work. One of the other waitresses, a woman in her early fifties by the name of Lois, is getting swamped and falling behind. She asks Ari to help her out real quick and take the check over to a booth in the back, more secluded area of the diner usually inhabited by couples who are on dates and want some more privacy. Ari agrees with a small smile but once she sees who's at the table her smile fades and she freezes in her tracks.

A bleach blonde girl is sitting in the booth with a skirt far too short than what is publicly appropriate and a lot of makeup on.

And she's sitting with Trent DeMarco.

Ari gulps, remembering his threat from earlier.

"_Don't think for one second you can embarrass me like that and get away with it."_

With great effort she forces her smile back on her face and goes up to the couple.

"Here is your check, sir," she says with a slight tremble in her voice. "Is there anything else I can get you?"

"No, we're good here," Trent says absentmindedly and Ari thinks she might be able to get away without him noticing. But as she begins to turn away he looks up. His eyes widen then gleam evilly. "Why, hello there, Short Stuff. I didn't know you worked here."

Ari wipes her sweaty palms on her jeans. "Yep. I work here."

He doesn't say anything else, just pulls out his wallet and hands her a credit card, probably something he took off of his dad.

All the while with a mischievous smile.

_Well,_ she thinks to herself, _this can't be good._

As Ari goes to the register to pay Trent's bill with his card her mind tries to think up all of the things he could do to get back at her for that morning. But there really isn't anything he can do in front of all these people, right?

She drags her feet back to Trent's table and hands him back his card and receipt.

She smiles at him but it come out as more of a grimace. "Thank you and have a nice day."

"No," he says as he and his date rise from the booth, "you have a nice day." Trent lifts up his half-empty glass of soda and ice. Before Ari even realizes what he's doing, Trent dumps the contents over her head, soaking her hair, her work shirt, and the long-sleeved shirt she still wears underneath. Ari stands there with her mouth gaping open from the cold, shock, and utter disbelief.

The entire diner is quiet, all eyes staring right at her.

Trent penetrates the silence by dropping his plastic cup back onto the table, grabs the hand of his date, and walks out, both of them laughing all the way.

Ari wants to stop him, to grab him by the arm and give him and his bimbo Barbie doll a piece of her mind. She wants to thrash him out good so he will leave her alone once and for all.

But she can't. Talking back, standing up for herself, all it ever leads to is more pain. She's learned that plenty of times from her father. And this morning she didn't stop herself from using her voice again. Look where it got her? It just goes to show that all talking ever does is make her life even more miserable.

"Oh my goodness, Ari, are you alright?" Lois exclaims, pulling everyone out of their stupor. Customers go back to their meals and Lois and Hal rush to Ari's side. Lois grabs a bunch of napkins and starts wiping at Ari's damp hair.

As soon as Lois touches her Ari snaps out of it as well. She jerks back, slapping the helping hand away, and yells "Don't touch me!"

"Whoa, easy now," Hal raises his hands in front of him, palms out, as if he's trying to calm a spooked horse. "It's alright, Ari, no one here is gonna hurt ya."

He takes a few steps forward and Ari's breathing accelerates. She knows he won't hurt her, she really does, but her body just doesn't want to listen. Not after what just happened. She's in fight or flight mode now and she's leaning very heavily towards the flight part.

"Ari, you're soaked," Hal says softly. "How about you come with me to the back and we get you some dry clothes to change into. How does that sound?"

He barely touches her arm with his fingertip and Ari snaps. "No!" she cries. "Just leave me alone!" As fast as she can Ari moves around Hal and Lois, throws her apron off, it landing somewhere on the floor in the general area of the wall hook it's supposed to hang on, grabs her bag, and dashes out the door. She doesn't slow down for a second, giving no one time to talk her down, to touch her, to push her into a corner. All Ari wants right now is to be alone.

_Why? Why me?_

She practically throws herself into the Hatchback, jams the key in the ignition, and blindly takes off down the road. She doesn't know where she's going. She's barely even registering the cars driving beside her. All Ari knows is that she wants to get away.

_Why do these things always happen to me?_

Tears blur her eyes making it almost impossible to see.

_Am I really that useless?_

She hears horns honking at her angrily but at this point she doesn't really care.

_Am I really that unwanted?_

She just doesn't care.

_Would it be better if I just wasn't here anymore?_

Ari starts to drift into oncoming traffic. Right towards a semi.

The steering wheel jerks to the right uncontrollably forcing her back into the right lane. Ari blinks a few times in confusion and tries to move the wheel to the left again but it won't budge.

The semi passes by harmlessly.

Ari tries to turn the wheel again and nothing happens. With an angry huff she pulls harder. It still won't move an inch.

"What the crap is going on here?" she says aloud, her previous misery being replaced with anger.

And then replaced with fear as the Hatchback speeds up exponentially and starts to weave in and out of traffic. The seatbelt that she forgot put on when she got in the car moves on its own across her body and buckles tightly into place.

Ari's eyes widen. She lets go of the steering wheel and watches as it moves on its own.

The car is driving _on its own_.

Ari's not quite sure how to feel about this.

* * *

_**Author's Note**_

And that's a wrap for that chapter. I had a hard time holding in giggles as I was writing that ending. I kept trying to imagine what I would do if I had just been having suicidal thoughts and then all of a sudden my car takes on a life of it's own. And what did I realize: I wouldn't have a _fragging_ clue what to do. I can already imagine the blank look on her face. And you will get Ari's reaction next chapter. Sideswipe won't come out with the whole "I'm an alien robot" thing right away just from this incident but it will certainly get them closer. By the end of next chapter they'll be there for sure though.

Alrighty, hope you enjoyed, PLEASE REVIEW (as you can see, reviews make me write faster), and see you all next time!


	3. My Car is Alive

_**Author's Note**_

_Hello again! Got another chapter done this month. Very proud of myself, and I'm sure you all are happy. Just keep those reviews coming and I'll keep on writing as much as I can. Your reviews are what give me motivation. :)  
_

_Before I get into responding to reviews there is something I want to talk about that I believe to be very important. A few people have written to me with the belief that the abuse Ari's father puts her through, specifically the cutting and especially with him carving "unwanted" on her stomach, is unrealistic. If I were in your shoes I probably would have thought the same thing. But I did a lot of research into child abuse before I started this story and realized something that may be shocking to believe but is 100% true:_

_The abuse I decided to put Ari through does indeed happen in real life and is in fact **mild** compared to what some children go through._

_I research led me to many articles about real-life incidents of child abuse. I read a story about children being locked away with little to no food or water to where when they were rescued they looked like concentration camp survivors. I read a story about a child that was forced to eat nothing but his own feces and drink his own urine until he was allowed to finally give in to starvation and die. I read a story about children being locked away in a pitch dark room for days on end. I read a story about a boy who was forced to be a sex slave in his home from a very young age until he was rescued as a teenager. And I read many stories of children being cut by their abusers, carving of words too. It's not as uncommon as what you or I thought. I even found a story where a pentagram was carved into a boy's back._

_Honestly, I didn't know any of this up until I did my research a few weeks ago. It really opened up my eyes and I hope it opens up yours, too. Child abuse can be very gruesome, not just bruises or malnutrition._

_Anyway, onto brighter topics. Reviews!_

**_TigerLilly1995: _**_ As you can see, I already answered your question as addressed to everyone since, again, I thought it important for everyone to see. Thank you for bringing it up._**_  
_**

**_ChemicalEquinox: _**_ Ye__s, I'm finding myself quite enjoying writing Sunstreaker's parts. And now he wants to do a prank. :) This is going to be so much fun._

**_velociraptor4659: _**_Yeah, it probably will take Sunny a while to warm up to her but he'll probably like her quite a bit, or at least as much as Sunny can like a person, by the end of the first movie. Since I want to do a SidesxAri paring I don't want to make Sunny totally hate her but there does need to be some dislike in the beginning at least._

**_Neon: _**_I'm glad you like it and, yes, I am trying to update as often as I can._

**_Bee4ever: _**_Yes, poor Ari. But things are only going to get worse from here._

**_Cloud-Dancer103:_** Why thank you. ^_^ And they are definitely going to be quite angry. But I will allow them revenge. Trust me. *evil laugh*

**FourHorses: **Yep, me too. I'd probably be screaming my head off.

**Lumina13: **Thank you. Glad you like it. :)

**Guest: **Thanks! I'm trying to update as much as possible.

**oblivion-blade-princess: **Thank you very much. :D And I promise I will keep going. It's going to take a lot to stop me now.

**SunnySides: **Yep she knows something...and now she's going to find out the rest. :)

Alright, everyone, now go onward!

* * *

_**My Car is Alive**_

_My car is alive my car is alive my car is alive…,_ Ari chants over and over again. The more she thinks it, the crazier she thinks she is. Because cars can't be alive. They can't just drive themselves. Sure, they can in the movies and maybe some spy out there has a car like that, but her car? Her Hatchback which she just bought from a used car lot?

"Oh, I know," she says to herself as they pass the lake near the outskirts of town. "I really did hit that semi back there and now I'm in a coma or something. Yeah, this is all just a dream and I'm gonna wake up any minute now."

Then again, if she's in a coma from running into a semi that means she totaled the Hatchback and is in the hospital, bills Ron is going to have to pay or force her to pay herself.

And he's going to give her the worst kind of torture once she's back home and well enough to live through it.

Yeah, maybe having a car that's alive isn't such a bad thing after all.

The Hatchback jerks to the right going off-road to a small cliff overlooking the hilly grasslands that run in every direction. There isn't a soul in sight. Not even a farmhouse. Just emptiness and the setting sun.

_Crap. If my car is alive, then how do I know it is a nice car that doesn't want to kill me?_

They come to a stop next to a single, solitary tree. The seatbelt unclips itself and the driver's side door opens on its own.

Well, at least it is letting her out.

Ari quickly gets out, tripping on her way and falling on her knees in the compact dirt. She scrambles to her feet and turns around, still walking away from the car until her back hits the tree.

"Okay, would somebody like to explain to me just what the crap is going on here?" she yells out as loud as she can.

The car just sits there, driver's door still open, silent.

"Really? No one?" She takes in a deep breath. "If this is some kind of sick joke, then ha ha, very funny. You got me. Now, can you please stop all of this nonsense and just show yourself so I can go home?"

No one answers. No one who may be in the surrounding area, watching, listening, maybe holding some kind of remote control device.

No voice comes from the car either. She can't decide if it's a good thing or it means the car is thinking of a way to kill her and get rid of the body.

Ari starts to pace, her already frayed mind fraying even more. She's becoming more and more freaked out and scared with each step she takes. After a few paces she stops and screams at the car, "Just tell me what you want! Why did you bring me out here? If you're going to kill me, then just do it already!"

Inside the car, the radio comes to life, scanning stations until it settles on one. A song is just going into the intro, a song Ari knows well and really likes. It's "The Last Night" by Skillet.

The first verse of the song starts and she stands there, listening, as the man and woman sing to each other back and forth in a duet that calls out to Ari's soul.

**You come to me with scars on your wrist  
You tell me this will be the last night  
Feeling like this**

Ari runs her hands along her arms, holding herself, feeling her own scars underneath her still damp shirt. They may not be self-inflicted, but with what happened back there with the semi, she can't help but make a comparison with herself and the girl in the song.

**I just came to say goodbye  
Didn't want you to see me cry  
I'm fine **

**But I know it's a lie**

**This is the last night you'll spend alone  
Look me in the eyes so I know you know  
I'm everywhere you want me to be**

**The last night you'll spend alone  
I'll wrap you in my arms and I won't let go  
I'm everything you need me to be**

**Your parents say everything is your fault  
But they don't know you like I know you  
They don't know you at all**

**I'm so sick of when they say  
It's just a phase, you'll be okay, you're fine**

Ari's throat begins to close up. Yes. Her father has said things like that to her many times.

**But I know it's a lie**

**This is the last night you'll spend alone  
Look me in the eyes so I know you know  
I'm everywhere you want me to be**

**The last night you'll spend alone  
I'll wrap you in my arms and I won't let go  
I'm everything you need me to be  
The last night away from me**

**The night is so long when everything's wrong  
If you give me your hand, I will help you hold on  
Tonight, tonight**

**This is the last night you'll spend alone  
Look me in the eyes so I know you know  
I'm everywhere you want me to be**

**The last night you'll spend alone  
I'll wrap you in my arms and I won't let go  
I'm everything you need me to be**

**I won't let you say goodbye  
And I'll be your reason why  
The last night away from me**

**Away from me**

By the time the song ends and the radio turns itself off again tears are freely flowing from Ari's pale blue eyes. "The Last Night" has always been a song to pull at her heart, but never more so than now.

She wishes she had someone to hold her, even though she can barely stand to be around other people, let alone be touched by them. She just wants someone to tell her everything is going to be alright.

The Hatchback makes an odd whirring sound, sounding both somehow sad and insistent at the same time.

Ari blinks the last of her tears away and wipes her face with her sleeve to give herself a clear view of the car again. She studies it for a few moments, contemplating.

_Maybe that's why it did what it did. Why it…took control. Why it brought me all the way out here and why it played me that song. Maybe it's trying to tell me that everything's going to be okay?_

"Is that it?" she asks quietly. "Are you just trying to tell me everything's going to be okay?"

Another whirr is her answer, sounding happy this time.

* * *

Sideswipe knows that if Optimus were here he would be in deep trouble right now, but he just doesn't give a frag anymore.

The human girl, Ari, the one he and Sunstreaker are supposed to be protecting, had deliberately tried to offline them both. Granted, she didn't know he was alive, but still. He could feel the purpose in her hands as they guided his steering wheel into the opposing lane.

He _had_ to do something. There was just no way around it. It was either take control or go splat against the hood of a semi at fifty-five miles per hour. Sideswipe isn't even sure that, being a Cybertronian, even he would have survived a head-on collision like that.

But afterward. Driving her to that cliff. Playing her that song. Pit, basically talking to her even though he didn't really say anything at all. That was way more than what he should have done.

Especially since now, with Ari back in his alt mode, in the passenger seat this time since she apparently felt creeped out siting in his driver seat with him driving, she is asking him a bunch of questions trying to get him to tell her who he is and why he's here.

Basically everything Sideswipe is supposed to _not_ tell her until Optimus gets to Earth.

But she knows now that her car is not…normal. She knows he's alive in some way, although she still doesn't understand just how much alive he truly is. There's no denying that anymore. Neither of them can just pretend none of that just happened.

So, if she's already halfway to knowing the truth, then what is Sideswipe supposed to do now? Answer her questions, or leave her in the dark and ignore her until Optimus gets here in two days?

Perhaps his brother will know what to do.

"_Hey Sunny?"_ Sideswipe says through the bond. _"I may have done something I probably shouldn't have."_

He can feel Sunny's irritation through the bond. _"Oh, slag, what did you do now? You didn't talk to her, did you?"_

"_Well…"_ Sideswipe lets the sentence hang, unsure how to explain this to where it doesn't sound like he completely disobeyed orders.

Sunstreaker waits for more, but when Sideswipe fails to go on he asks, _"Sides, you didn't really do it, did you? Optimus told us not to."_

"_Not…exactly…"_ He sighs and then decides to just get it over with and explain everything from the beginning, starting from the diner.

When he finishes, Sunstreaker asks, _"So who is this little fragger messing with your human?"_

"'_My' human? Don't you mean 'our' human? You're protecting her too you know."_

"_Yeah, but I'm not the one getting all worked up over her. So, who is the human piece of slag from that diner place?"_

"_But what about what Optimus said? She knows, Sunny. She knows I'm not just a car."_

Sides can practically feel Sunny rolling his optics. _"Oh please, Optimus would understand why you did what you did. It was all in the name of keeping her alive long enough for us to get what we need. I'm sure he'd understand."_

"_That's not the only reason I did it, Sunstreaker. She was hurting and I wanted to cheer her up and I couldn't do that as just her car. And I actually _want_ her to know about me, about us. She's more than just a means to an end. I-I want..." _He doesn't really know what he wants and is finding it hard to put it into words._ "I want to get to know her," _he finishes lamely, still not sounding quite right but it's as close as he can get it.

"_Sideswipe, you can't get too attached to these humans. They don't live nearly as long as we do. You know that."_

"_I know but…she feels…different. Special. Like she's going to become a part of our lives more so than what we realize. And I need to protect her."_

Sunny sighs. _"Whatever, just do what you gotta do. Either way, Optimus will understand. And it's probably better for her to find out about us before she sees him anyway."_

Sideswipe laughs. _"Yeah, you're probably right. Thanks, Sunny."_

"_Don't mention it. Now, will you answer my question? Who was the human picking on her?"_

"_I think his name is Trent. He's the same one she had a confrontation with this morning. I get the feeling this isn't the first time he's bullied her." _

"_Well then. I thinks it's time he got a piece of his own medicine."_

If Sideswipe could smile in his alt mode he would right now. _"Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?"_

"_You know I am. It's time this human met the Kings of Pranks and we've been out of the game for far too long."_

* * *

When the Hatchback arrives back at her house, "frustrated" can't even begin to describe what Ari is feeling. Her car comes alive, kidnaps her, sings to her, makes weird noises at her, and then won't answer any of her questions. She thought maybe he didn't understand English, but he certainly understands enough to know what she is saying and to pick out a song to convey what he is trying to say. So why doesn't he do the same now? Put together words from the radio like a kidnapper's note and talk to her. Anything would be better than the silence of not knowing.

Ari gets out of the Hatchback and walks towards her house. She heads straight for the front door, almost not noticing that her father's car is in the driveway. But she does, freezing with her hand inches from the door handle, her keys shaking in her hand.

Night surrounds her, the sun having set long ago, and crickets chirp happily in the bushes unaware of the turmoil boiling inside Ari's stomach.

Her father is home.

And she is getting home way later than usual.

He is going to be so, so very angry.

The Hatchback whirrs behind her worriedly apparently having sensed her hesitation, or at least that's what Ari guesses.

She looks back the car with a weak half-smile. "Don't worry, I'm fine." She then gives the car her best attempt at a scowl despite the fear creeping up her spine. "And I expect some answers out of you later."

With that, she unlocks the door and steps inside as silently as possible.

Her father is nowhere to be seen. He is not lounging on the couch watching football. He is not in the kitchen getting a beer. He is not passed out in some random place on the floor.

This only means one thing, and the thumping coming from upstairs proves it.

He brought home a girl tonight.

This is both good and bad for Ari. Good because it probably means that the woman was distracting enough to keep him from noticing exactly when Ari got home. Bad because their walls are paper thin and Ron and his lovers tend to get loud, so she's going to be able to hear them go at it all night.

_But at least I don't get beaten tonight,_ she thinks with a sad smile.

She quickly and silently heads up to her room already feeling tired enough to go to bed right now but not before checking on her eBay page. She has several items she is trying to sell on the website, most of it some of her great-great grandfather's old seaman things, the proceeds going towards her college fund. Ari feels bad about selling the things he left behind but hopes he understands. The more money she can manage to get together, the easier she'll be able to get away from her father by the time she graduates.

A loud moan echoes through the house, bouncing off of the high ceiling and down the hall to her room.

_Time to break out the iPod._

* * *

Pain. All Ari feels is pain. Each breath feels like someone is stabbing and cutting along every inch of her skin.

And someone is.

A laugh echoes in her ears, dark and menacing. She knows that laugh very well. Ari pushes her eyelids to open and they comply, barely, opening a small crack.

Her father stands over her crumpled body, draped in shadow, but she knows it's him. He's holding a knife dripping an angry crimson with blood. Her blood. It's everywhere, not just on the knife. It's all over his hands, his clothes, even his face.

Ron's dark eyes dance with madness, relishing in her blood and the acts he's wrought on her body.

"You are worthless, Arianna," he says, his voice sinister. "You are unwanted. For the rest of your miserable life you will be hated. You are nothing but trash. An _insect_." The last word comes out harsher, sounding almost…metallic.

In a swift movement her father crouches in front of her with the knife now plunged into her stomach.

A gurgling, choking sound makes its way out of Ari's throat instead of the scream of agony it's meant to be. Darkness starts to speckle at the sides of her vision but she manages to look down at the knife protruding from her stomach.

And the metal hand holding it.

Ari looks back up at her father in horror, only it's not her father. It's some sort of metal being with glowing red eyes.

The horrible monster snarls at her, flashing its pointed teeth. "Your entire species is unwanted and you're all going to perish at my hands."

* * *

Ari jolts up in bed with a gasp, her headphones falling out of her ears. Her eyes dart left and right as she tries to get her bearings back. She's lying in bed where she must have eventually dozed off despite the antics of her father and his guest. Her iPod lies next to her, "The Last Night" by Skillet blasting through the ear buds still playing on repeat.

"It was just a dream," she whispers to herself, rubbing her bare arms with her hands to try and stop the shaking. "It was just a dream."

But it felt so real.

Creaking, thumping, and the occasional moan of pleasure continues to filter down the hallway into Ari's ears.

A quick glance at the clock tells her it's only a little after midnight.

Ari gets out of bed, throwing on a dark blue hoodie and a pair of gray sweatpants overtop of her tank top and shorts and pulls on her Converses. She's not going to be able to fall back to sleep anytime soon. Not after that dream. And she doesn't want to stay in the house with those people making those noises just a few rooms down. Her iPod can only do so much for her at this point.

She slides her window open and carefully steps onto the roof of the back porch. There is a large oak tree right next to the house with some large branches close enough for Ari to carefully climb onto. She then makes her way from tree branch to tree branch with practiced ease until she is close enough to jump down to the ground with a soft thump. Normally when her father has "company" over and she can't stand to be inside she would hang out in the backyard or even go for a walk if she knew she wouldn't be missed anytime soon. However, there is somewhere else she wants to be at the moment.

Ari approaches the Hatchback still parked at the front of the house. She tries to unlock the passenger door with her key but her hands are still shaking. Every time she gets near the lock her hand causes the key to bounce out of alignment with the keyhole.

_Deep breaths, Ari, take deep breaths. It was just a dream. Your father isn't going to all of a sudden stab you and he isn't going to turn into a metal monster. You're fine. You're safe. Everything is going to be okay._

But why doesn't it feel like it?

The door pops open by itself causing Ari to jump back in surprise.

Right. Car is alive. So that wasn't part of her dream too.

She runs a finger along the top of the car door with the barest of touches. A sort of thrum of energy, almost like a static shock, flows into her hand. She's felt it a few times before but always thought it was just the hum of the engine. She never would have guessed it to mean her car is alive.

Ari runs her hand along the door again and the car actually shudders slightly, like a contented purr of a cat being scratched in just the right place. She smiles a little.

She knows she should be scared of this thing whose intentions she does not know, but for some reason Ari feels really safe with her not-so-ordinary car. If anything, she feels like something important, something big, is about to happen. Whether it's going to be good or bad, that remains to be seen.

But Ari knows she won't have to go through it alone. Her Hatchback will be with her, watching over her. She just knows it. It protected her today, after all.

She sits down in the passenger seat of the car and before she can even think of reaching for it the door closes by itself. Wiggling back into the plush leather seats Ari finally relaxes for once, all of the tension leaving her body as the feeling of safety washes over her.

"So," she begins, figuring now is as good a time as any to try asking more questions, "you have a name or am I going to have to keep calling you Hatchback?"

There is silence for a long moment, so long Ari begins to think the car isn't going to answer her. She lets out a frustrated huff.

"Sideswipe," a voice Ari has never heard before says from the speakers of the car. "My name is Sideswipe. Or Sides for short if you want." The voice is normal, not a song and not patchwork phrases like she was expecting, but an actual voice belonging to the actual car, belonging to Sideswipe. It throws her for a minute, making her realize that this car may be more intelligence than she originally thought. And it's not just a remote controlled car. No, from what's she's seen of Sideswipe so far, Ari is almost certain that isn't the case.

"Um," she looks around not really sure exactly what to face while talking to the car…it…him? Yes, him, the voice is definitely male, and it didn't sound much older than her either. Late teens, early twenties at the most. She shrugs, figuring the radio is as good a place as any. "Hello, Sideswipe, my name is Ari. Ari Witwicky. Are you finally going to talk to me now?"

"We are already talking."

She rolls her eyes. "I mean answer my questions, smart-aleck. Have you finally decided to give me some real answers?"

Sideswipe sighs, a puff of air blowing out of the ac vents and into Ari's face. "Yes, I have. You already know I'm not just a car and you're going to find out eventually anyway. So I figured might as well. Although I'm not sure the others will see it the same way."

"There are more like you? And what _are_ you exactly? I mean, besides a car. Are you like Herbie?"

"What's a Herbie?"

Ari raises an eyebrow. "You don't know Herbie? You know, the movie?"

"I only had so much time to look things up on the internet. I got Earth's languages and other necessary basics I needed to know about humans and this planet, but I haven't had a chance to watch any of your 'movies.'"

_Earth. Humans. This planet. The way he talks…does that mean what I think it means?_

"Wait, wait, wait. Are you saying that you're…not from Earth? Like an alien?"

"Yep," he says cheerfully.

Ari's eyes widen, her mouth falling open in a small O shape. Alien. He's an alien. And there are more of them. Coming here.

What happened to little green men?

"Uh, Ari, you okay?"

"Yeah," she squeaks. "Yeah, just…trying to process. It's kind of mind blowing to suddenly have one of the universe's biggest mysteries answered." She wipes a hand along her face, looking around her in a new light. She's not just sitting inside a car. She's in an alien. "So, do all aliens look like cars?"

Sideswipe laughs. "Yes and no. This is what we call an alternate mode, or alt mode for short. I have a bipedal mode which is what I normally look like."

"So you can…transform. Will you show me?"

Sides shifts slightly on his wheels in a way Ari imagines to be the equivalent of a person shifting on their feet uncomfortably.

She scrunches her brow in confusion. "You don't want to show me?"

"No, no, I really do," he answers quickly. "It's just here may not be the best place for that. I would kind of…stand out. And…."

"And?"

"I…don't want to…freak you out."

Ari's mind flashes back to her dream with the metal monster with the burning eyes. "Is your bipedal mode really that frightening?"

"Most humans might think so," he says quietly. "It's not exactly something humans normally see every day. Scaring you is the last thing I want to do."

She places a hand on the dash. "Well, you won't scare me off that easily. I've seen and been through scarier things before. Trust me."

"Like what?"

Ari knows his curiosity is normal, especially after everything he's witnessed, but she still can't help but pull her hand away as if he burned her. She places her feet on her seat, wrapping her arms around her legs and drawing her knees towards her chest.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Sides asks, sensing her withdrawal into herself.

"Nothing," she replies, voice devoid of emotion. "I don't want to talk about it."

She knows Sides wants to ask more but, thankfully, he lets it pass. "Okay, then do you want to ask some more of your questions now?"

Ari nods as she wracks her brain. So many questions were flying around her mind earlier and now it's difficult to pick just one. Deciding to start off simple she asks, "What are you exactly? What are you called?"

"We are autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron..."

Ari asks question after question for the next hour, from learning about the different alt modes the Cybertronians can transform into, to what their bipedal forms are like, to what they eat, to what their familial structures are like (at this point finding out about his twin, Sunstreaker), to what their home planet looks like. When talking about Cybertron Sideswipe sounds kind of sad. Why, Ari doesn't know. She wonders if something happened to it, like how pollution is slowly eating away at Earth, but decides not to ask. He didn't ask about her problems. She won't ask about his.

When Ari lets out her fifth yawn in the past three minutes Sideswipe laughs. "Alright, I think it's about time you go and get some recharge. You have school in the morning."

"But you were," she yawns again, "just about to tell me some of the pranks you and Sunny like to pull."

"I'll tell you tomorrow. Maybe you can even meet Sunny, too."

"'Kay, sounds good." Sideswipe opens her door for her but Ari hesitates in getting out. She's afraid to go back inside. Afraid of her father. And afraid of having that nightmare again.

**This is the last night you'll spend alone**

Biting her lip she looks back towards the radio. "Hey, Sides?"

"Yeah?"

"Is it…can I…maybe…stay out here with you?" She looks down at her hands in her lap, her fingers twisting together. "I don't want to be alone," she whispers.

Another thrum of energy, comforting and soothing, flows into Ari's skin from the leather seat and the door closes softly. "Of course, Ari."

Sideswipe leans her seat back as far as it will go and Ari curls up on her side with a small smile and a contented sigh. "Thanks."

"Do you want me to wake you in the morning?"

Ari's eyes are already beginning to droop but she manages to mumble, "Yeah, around 6:30 please." Before her eyes close all the way another question pops into her head. "Hey Sideswipe?"

"Yes, Ari?"

"Why did you decide to become my car? Why me?"

He sighs. "Perhaps that's a question best answered some other time. No go to sleep."

She wants to argue but is too tired to. "Alright. Goodnight Sideswipe."

"Goodnight Ari."

And then she falls into the deepest, most pleasant sleep she's had in a long, long time.

* * *

_**Author's Note**_

And that's the end of that chapter. Ari knows about Sideswipe now, although not everything, but she knows the important stuff. She'll find out the rest probably around the same time Sam does in the movie. Speaking of the movie, we're going to be getting further and further into movie stuff now. Barricade shows up next chapter and then it's all downhill from there. I'll try to keep exact repetition of the movie to a minimum but it is going to be more similar from here on out. But I promise not too much.

Alright, hope you enjoyed, PLEASE REVIEW, and see you all next time!


	4. The Beginning of the End

_**Author's Note**_

_Hello, lovely readers! I am making very good progress in this story so far despite my many essays and it being time for midterms at my school. Hopefully I can keep this up, especially since now things are getting good. This is the chapter where everything changes, more so than just meeting an alien. This is where Ari actually gets pulled into the battle and gets a taste of what's to come. After this chapter, nothing will ever be the same for her. _

_Now, lets move on to the reviews:_

**_oblivion-blade-princess: _**_Yeah, Sides is a sweetheart. That's how I always pictured him as being and I've seen similar in other fanfic so I went with it. Definetly allows for a lot of cuteness. Which I shall be writing a lot of next chapter. :D_

**_FourHorses: _**_I know, I can't wait for her to meet the rest either. And I hope you like what I did with Trent. I had fun writing that part._

**_Kazma-sama: _**_lol They really do need more loving, don't they? I'm glad you like my twist to give them the loving they deserve._

**_TigerLilly1995: _**_Okay, I see what you mean. I hope my story lives up to your expectations. Yes, in a way, her dream is foreshadowing, but Ron really is Ron. _

**_Bee4ever: _**_Glad you liked it. :)_

**_SunnySides: _**_Yes, Barricade is in this chapter, towards the end, and it filters into the next chapter. I was going to have it all be one thing, but it turned out to be a lot longer than I expected. And don't worry, Prime won't be too hard on him._

**_velociraptor4659: _**_Yes, I meant it to be Megatron. And I really love Skillet too!_

**_Hannibal Not the Cannibal: _**_I'm glad you found this story too. ^_^ And thank you very much._

**_KeepingThemAtBay: _**_Lol, yeah that is nasty._

**_JerseyPrime23: _**_I'm glad you like it so far, but no, I won't be having the pairing include Sunstreaker too. I myself have never cared for the threesome idea. I wish I could find my own Transformer too. That would be amazing._

**_FrodoFanatic: _**_Glad I have you enthralled. Hopefully I can keep you that way._

_Alrighty, with all of that said and done, it is now time to go onward!_

* * *

_**The Beginning of the End**_

A song blasts at full volume causing Ari to lurch awake, heart pounding, still too groggy to comprehend anything but the very loud noise and a slight stiffness in her neck. She shifts her neck form side to side until she feels a few audible pops that relieve the tension. Rubbing the sleepiness from her eyes she then looks around, realizing she is still in the Hatchback where she fell asleep in the early morning hours of the night.

Correction, she fell asleep in _Sideswipe_. Who is an _alien_ posing as her car.

_And I thought my life couldn't get any more different._

Music still blasts from the speakers which she now recognizes as "Awakening" by Switchfoot. Sides may not have been on Earth long but, Ari admits, he already has good taste in music.

Although that does not excuse almost blowing her eardrums off.

Ari pushes the power button on the radio and everything goes blissfully silent. Honestly, she wasn't even sure she would have been able to do that but she's glad it worked. There's only so much she can handle so early in the morning.

"Good morning, Ari," Sideswipe says cheerily, an obvious morning person.

"Morning, Sides," she replies far less enthusiastically. "Thank for waking me up. Though next time can you please not do it so _loudly_?"

"What? You didn't like my wakeup call?" There is a definite tone of mischievousness.

"Oh, I see how it is." She cracks a half-smile. "No new paint job for you then."

Sideswipe sinks on his tires. "Whaaaat? Aw, come on, Ari, don't be like that. I look disgusting like this. Do you have any idea how annoying Sunstreaker has been making fun of my paint job? He says I look like a piece of slag that's been left in a junkyard to rust."

Ari laughs, the natural display of amusement sounding foreign to her ears. How long has it been since she last laughed? "I'm just kidding, Sides. And you really don't look that bad."

Sideswipe is silent for a few moments, making Ari believe she may have hurt his feelings and she opens her mouth to apologize.

"You have a beautiful laugh," he says suddenly. Ari closes her mouth in shock with a clack as her teeth snap together. "And your eyes sparkle really bright when you smile."

Ari blushes a deep scarlet. "Thank you," she says quietly and opens Sideswipe's door. "I should probably go in and get ready for school."

"Right, school!" he says excitedly. "Yes, go hurry up. We need to make sure you get there on time."

She looks at him suspiciously. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything. I was with you all night. Now Sunny, on the other hand, well…let's just say you're about to get a glimpse of the work of the Kings of Pranks."

_Who else besides me does Sideswipe and Sunstreaker know enough to pull a prank on? _Ari wonders as she climbs back up the tree to her bedroom. According to Sideswipe they haven't been on Earth for very long. Sideswipe has basically been with her the entire time.

_Guess I'll just have to hurry up and get to school to find out._

All is silent as Ari stands in her room, listening for where in the house her father might be and what he is doing. Taking the silence to mean Ron and the woman he brought home are still asleep she gets ready for school. Hopefully they won't wake up before she leaves. It's always awkward to meet her father's flings if they decide to go downstairs for breakfast, especially since the girls he brings home usually look creepily similar to her mom. And she won't have to find out if Ron noticed her late arrival last night or not.

Twenty minutes later Ari is creeping past her father's bedroom door. Loud snores, like a leaf blower, leak out from behind the wooden barrier. The woman's snores. Ron is a silent sleeper.

Down the stairs. Past the kitchen, her father's study. The doorway leading to the living room.

"Stop right there," a deadly quiet voice says. Ari stops, all of her muscles locking up, and turns towards the living room couch.

There sits Ron, beer already in hand and three-quarters of the way empty. He must have been up for a while. Probably his date woke him up with her snores. Gulping, Ari stands a few feet away, slightly turned towards the door just in case.

"Did you think," he takes a swig of the beer, "that I wouldn't notice?"

"N-notice what?" she asks, voice quivering despite her attempts to steady it.

"Last night. That you were late getting home." He gulps down the rest of the beer and stands, approaching Ari with slow, heavy steps. "So where were you last night?"

With every step Ron takes Ari takes a step back towards the door. "I-I was at w-work."

"No you weren't. You get off at 7. I got home with Abby at 7:30. You didn't show up for about another half hour. And that piece of crap diner you work at ain't that far from here." Ari's entire body is shaking now. He smirks. "That's right, I heard you when you got home. So tell me. Where did you run off to?"

Ari shuffles back a few more steps wondering if she can make it to the door before he grabs her. She can't tell Ron about Sideswipe. He wouldn't believe her and then he would beat her again for making up stories. And even if she did ask Sideswipe to show him…well…Ari just doesn't trust her father with this kind of secret. She knows he'd do something terrible, both for her and for Sides.

"I won't ask you again, girl." Ron raises his hand holding the beer bottle by the neck, ready to throw.

The doorknob digs into her spine as she backs into the door. There's maybe ten feet between her and Ron now. "I-I just went for a drive. That's all. Out towards the lake." Her hand slowly reaches behind her, searching for the knob. When she finds it she unlocks the door hoping her father doesn't hear the click.

"Don't you lie to me!" Ron yells, throwing the beer bottle towards her head. Ari dodges to the left while still gripping the doorknob. The bottle hits the door, an explosion of glass that sends shards flying everywhere. As she straightens she turns the knob and flings the door open, heading straight for Sideswipe. She doesn't bother to get her keys out, just touches the handle of the driver's side door. The door unlocks for her and she gets in.

Ron stomps after her down the driveway. "Arianna Samantha Witwicky, you get back here! Don't think you can just run away from me. You know you can't!"

"Ari, what's going on?" Sideswipe asks confusedly. The seatbelt winds itself around Ari's body and clicks into place. She can feel a gentle thrum of energy and a slight squeeze from the belt, his best attempt at a hug.

However, Ari doesn't take her eyes off of her approaching father, shaking in fear. "Just get us out of here, Sideswipe. Please!"

The engine roars to life, the shifter going into reverse, and they squeal out of the driveway down the road towards the school.

"Ari?" Sideswipe asks as he weaves in and out of traffic going much faster than Ari would have liked but her mind is still too enveloped in fear and adrenalin to notice. They arrive at Tranquility High, still relatively early thanks to Sides's speeding, and he pulls into a parking spot. "Ari, come on, snap out of it." He squeezes the belt around her tighter. "You're safe with me. It's alright. You're okay."

Ari grips the seatbelt with both hands tightly, unsure if she is hurting him, but needing something to hold on to, to ground herself. Taking a deep breath in through her nose and releasing it slowly out of her mouth, she tries to get her frantic heartbeat back under control. After a few calming minutes she says, "I'm fine."

"What was that back there, Ari?" Sideswipe asks worriedly. "Why was your parental unit so mad at you and-" the engine suddenly revs loudly, making Ari and a few passing students jump, "And why are you bleeding?" he finishes angrily.

Brow ruffled in confusion she looks down at her body. On her right arm are two jagged tears in her green long-sleeved shirt, the edges streaked with blood. Cursing under her breath she pushes her sleeve up to see the two new cuts in her skin. She winces, seeing the wounds making her body finally register the pain. With a sigh Ari reaches for her bag, which thankfully ended up in the passenger's seat in her rush, and pulls out her first aid kit, mechanically going through the motions of cleaning the cuts and applying disinfectant. Seeing as how they are fairly shallow and not needing stitches she wraps them in gauze. Satisfied with her work she puts everything away and pulls her blue hoodie out. She's going to have to wear it today since her shirt is now ruined.

"Ari?" Sideswipe asks, his voice strangely quiet.

"Yes, Sideswipe?" Ari says, striving for nonchalant, as she puts on her jacket. She knows what he wants to ask, but she can't tell him. She just can't. Every time she tries to tell someone, whether successful or not, Ron always finds out. She doesn't know how but he always does. She probably gives it away somehow since lying has never been her strong suite. And either way, Sideswipe just…he won't understand. He won't understand how she can be so weak. How she can't fight back. He'll think of her as weak and disgusting. Sure, he'll pity her, but she doesn't want his pity. That just reminds her even more how she's so useless. And then he'll leave her. Yes, he'll leave her for sure.

Sideswipe whirrs, a sad, low sound. "Why was your father yelling at you, why are there cuts on your arms, and where did you get those scars?" Ari winces, looking down at her lap. She forgot about her scars. Now he's not only seen her father angry, but her scars too. "What…what happened to you?"

Ari bites her lip, shaking her head furiously.

"You won't tell me?" Ari hates the hurt she can hear in Sides's voice but what else can she do?

She shakes her head again.

He sighs, air blowing out of the vents long and cold. Ari waits for him to yell at her, to get angry for not wanting to tell him the truth, but what he says throws her.

"Alright," he says calmly.

She blinks in surprise, her head slowly rising to look at the radio. "W-what?"

"I said alright. You don't have to tell me."

"You…you're not mad?"

"Of course not, Ari. I mean…I'm worried about whatever this is, and I do wish you'd tell me, but if you don't want to tell me about it now, then that's okay. You can tell me when you're ready. Just know that I'm here for you, alright?"

She smiles, small and soft. "Okay." She pets the steering wheel gently. "Thank you, Sideswipe. For being understanding."

"No problem. Now, let's move on to something that will really make your day."

Ari is confused as to what he means but then remembers their earlier conversation. "Oh yeah. You said that you pranked someone? Who did you prank?"

"Well, you can see him from here. Look at the flag pole."

Sideswipe parked them close to the front of the school so all she has to do is lean forward in her seat a little in order to get a good look at the flag pole. What she sees makes her jaw fall open and nearly snap off. There, at the very top of the flag pole, is not the stars and stripes, but Trent DeMarco hanging from the rope.

By his boxers. And he's wearing nothing else.

Trent flails around wildly, his muffled cries for help mutely filtering into Sideswipe's interior. There's a pretty sizeable crowd formed at the base of the pole. The principal and a couple of janitors are at the moment setting up a ladder to get Trent down while everyone else is either trying to smother giggles or laughing outright.

Ari herself is quickly morphing from shock to endless laughter so hard tears are coming to her eyes.

"Oh my gosh, Sideswipe," she calls in-between laughing fits. "This is hilarious. Oh how I can't wait to hear about the other pranks you and Sunny have pulled." A few more chuckles escape but then Ari manages to pull herself back together, wiping tears from her eyes.

"I'm glad you like it," Sideswipe says, obviously proud of himself and ego inflated. Even though she knows Sunstreaker probably did all of the work, but whatever. This was priceless.

"I have to ask, though, why did you guys decide to prank Trent DeMarco?"

"Because of what he did to you yesterday," he says, his voice suddenly serious and cold. "He deserves far worse, but we've sworn never to harm any living beings. So this was the best we could do."

Ari doesn't know what to say. She's had to deal with Trent's antics most of her life all by herself. She's had to deal with _everything_ all by herself. No one was ever there for her. No one ever cared.

Until now. Until Sideswipe.

Tears form in Ari's eyes for an entirely different reason now.

"Hey, hey, don't cry," Sideswipe says, panicking. "Did we do something wrong? Should we not have done this? You don't hate us, do you?"

She chuckles but it sounds more like a cough. "No, of course not, Sides, it's just…no one has ever done anything like this for me before. Or treated me so much like a friend."

"Well, you are my friend, silly. And you may not know Sunny yet, and he may be a hardaft to get through to, but he'll come around eventually. Honestly, not many bots can successfully become his friend, but I'm sure you can."

Ari's throat hitches. "Do…do you really mean that? Am I really your friend?"

"Yeah, of course." He says it so casually, like it's the most obvious, normal thing in the world, but to Ari it is nothing short of a miracle. No one has ever wanted to become her friend, not since her mom left. Not since the beating started. When she brought friends over to her house after school her father would scare them off. They then avoided her after that. Eventually, everyone did. She hasn't had a friend in a long, long time.

Her heart warms gently, like a piece of her is getting put back together again. She leans forward to hug the steering wheel as best she can and then kisses it.

"Thanks, Sideswipe," she says softly, and then she grabs her stuff, hops out, and heads towards the school.

_Today is going to be an amazing day. I can already tell._

* * *

School flies by faster than usual. It's the second-to-last day before final exams. By this time none of the teachers really have anything for their students to do unless any of them want a little more review. Ari basically reads one of the few books she owns all day. It's _The Angel Experiment_ by James Patterson. The first in the Maximum Ride series. She absolutely adores it but has never ventured to get the rest of the books, always too afraid Ron will catch her trying to bring the books home and take them from her. There's a reason why she hides most of her things in the back of her closet.

But after school, it is the beginning of the end. The end of what she knows as normal. The end of everything Ari once knew.

Sideswipe is taking Ari to work at the diner and they're sitting at a traffic light listening to Three Days Grace. They're a couple of cars back from the traffic light, waiting for it to turn green, when a cop car drives up beside them. He stops in his lane about a car length ahead of them giving Ari a good look of the car. It's a very sweet ride, although she would never know what kind of car it is, but it's a lot nicer than what most cop cars in Tranquility look like.

But it's what's written on the side of the car that catches Ari's attention.

Written on the black paint in white letters above the rear tire are the words "to punish and enslave."

_That's…odd. Whatever happened to "to serve and protect"? Is this some kind of joke?_

Ari squints at the car, her pale blue eyes roaming over every inch she can see. Towards the front of the car, instead of a police logo inside of the shield, is an odd head that is strangely familiar. Her eyes widen as she realizes that it reminds her of the head on Sideswipe's steering wheel, only with sharper angles and somehow more menacing.

She has a bad feeling about this.

"Uh, Sideswipe?" she asks. "Does that cop car seem kind of…off to you?"

He is silent, observing the car Ari suspects, but then the seatbelt wraps more firmly around Ari's form. She can practically feel his anger and tension radiating through her seat.

She strokes the steering wheel soothingly. "Sides? What's wrong? Do you…do you know that cop car? Is he like you?"

"No," Sideswipe growls, his voice never before having sounded so full of hate. "That's Barricade. He is nothing like me and Sunny. He's a Decepticon."

Well, that doesn't sound good. "A Decepticon? What's that?"

"We haven't gotten a chance to talk about this yet, but it has to do with why we had to leave Cybertron and why we're on Earth now. Long ago Cybertronians divided into two groups: Autobots, who want to protect all life and help guide other planets to prosperity, and Decepticons, who want nothing more than total destruction and to rule over every living creature in the universe."

Nope. Not good at all.

"And you're saying that that cop," she gulps, "he's one of the Decepticons?"

"Yes, Ari. And he's after you."

Ari's face drains of all color. "M-me? Why me?"

"Look, I can't explain this all now. If he hasn't noticed us already, then he will once this light turns green. We're going to have to make a run for it. Hopefully lose him in the city."

"Can you outrun him?"

"In this form, I'm not sure. I'm known for my speed but this car, compared to Barricade's, was made a lot slower because it's older. I can push it far past its original capabilities but it may not be enough."

"Then what do we do? What if…what if he catches us? What's going to happen to me?"

A burst of energy shoots into Ari from the seat, comforting and protective. "That's _not_ going to happen. My brother and I will make sure of it. I've already contacted him. He's nearby and ready to give us backup if we need it."

The light turns green. Cars start to move forward.

The cop car does not.

"Are you ready for this?" Sideswipes asks, engine revving, ready to take off at full speed.

"Not really but we're going anyway," she replies shakily while gripping the sides of her seat with both hands.

"Don't worry. I've got ya, Ari." Once enough cars have moved ahead of them and dispersed Sideswipe steps on the accelerator, the tires squealing against the asphalt and literally burning rubber, she can smell it. The force slams Ari into the back of her seat as they speedily pull ahead of the cop car and weave around cars at dangerous speeds north of 100.

The cop car turns on its sirens and chases after them, never leaving the rearview mirror.

Whatever happens now, all she can do is hold on tight and trust in Sideswipe.

The chase lasts a long time stretching into almost every part of the city. Every now and then other cop cars join them, thinking the Decepticon really is a cop chasing criminals, but eventually they pull back being unable to keep up at these speeds.

After a couple of fasts turns and ducking between buildings they lose Barricade for a little while. Sideswipe drives underneath an overpass where a lot of old abandoned cars are parked, a place that looks like it tends to often house a lot of homeless squatters at night but is deserted now.

Sideswipe comes to a sudden stop, the only thing keeping Ari from banging her head against the steering wheel being the seatbelt, and opens the driver's side door.

"Get out," he says urgently.

"What?" Ari looks at the radio, horrified. "You're just going to leave me here?"

Sides sighs impatiently. "No, I want you to get out and hide while I lure him away. Sunstreaker is coming to get you and we'll all meet up again later when I've lost Barricade for good, one way or another."

The seatbelt pulls away from Ari's body and she gets out, though uneasily. She doesn't like this plan. So much can go wrong. What if Barricade is too much for Sideswipe? What if he gets hurt? If Sunstreaker is busy taking care of her, then Sideswipe is left by himself to fight Barricade if it comes to that. They _should_ just leave her here. They should go fight Barricade off together.

But before she can say anything Sideswipe is already accelerating away from her.

"Stay safe," she whispers after him and then goes to hide among the abandoned cars, crouching behind an old white minivan.

Ari strains her ears until she can no longer hear the roar of Sideswipe's engine. Then there is only the sound of the passing cars driving on the overpass overhead to fill the silence. In the distance a dog barks, frantic and insistent, and Ari wonders what it is barking at. _It's probably just a squirrel, Ari. Hopefully just a squirrel._

Soon the sound of a car approaching bounces off of the concrete and between cars. _So it wasn't just a squirrel. Okay, don't freak out, Ari. It's just Sunstreaker. Sideswipe said he was coming. That's it, it's just Sunny. Or maybe even Sideswipe is coming back. Yeah, that would be nice. That would mean he got rid of Barricade already and everything is fine now._

She peeks her head out from behind the van to see the cop car slow down and creep down the aisle of cars. Ari's heart hammers in her chest. He's searching. Searching for her. At least it means he doesn't know exactly where she is yet.

But what happened to Sideswipe?

Ari closes her eyes and shifts back behind the van, waiting for the Decepticon to pass her hiding spot, praying he won't notice her.

An odd sound reaches her ears like metal parts shifting around on some sort of machine. After a second of deliberation Ari sticks her head back out to get a look. What she sees astounds her.

The cop car…it just…stands up.

The car is breaking apart, folding in on itself, and then expanding. Recognizable forms start to appear. Ari can see what look like arms attached to hands with two of the car's wheels on them and long, claw-like fingers. She notices legs next, as the car gets up on its feet, legs that lead up to a large chest that is made up of the front of the car.

And lastly a head. A head with glowing red eyes.

It's Barricade, in his bipedal form that Sideswipe told her about, and she has to admit, it is a lot scarier than what she imagined. Although, that could just be because its red eyes are staring straight at her and the fact that he is charging towards her now with the apparent intent of crushing her. Ari scrambles to her feet and backs away just as the metal monster sweeps away the van she had been hiding behind with his arm as easily as if it had been a toy. He then does the same thing to her, ramming his arm painfully into her side, sending her flying through the air to land on the hood of a car twenty feet away causing the windshield to fracture with the force of the impact. Ari hisses in pain, already feeling bruises forming on her skin, possibly even bruised ribs as well. Ron had given her similar blows more than once in the past but never had it hurt quite as much as this.

Barricade charges at her again, the ground vibrating with every step, arm raised, but never makes it to her. A flash of yellow collides into Barricade from the right sending the two forms tumbling away. Ari blinks a few times in shock as another Cybertronian grapples with Barricade, this one yellow with blue eyes.

Ari instantly recognizes the mech from what Sideswipe has told her about his brother. Sunstreaker. She breathes a sigh of relief and then gingerly gets up off of the car she landed on. After a few steps the pain recedes into a dull ache.

"Don't just stand there, idiot!" a voice yells. Ari looks over to see Sunstreaker staring at her, now standing off against Barricade, the two circling each other like a pair of wolves. "Run, idiot, run!"

_Great. I just met him and Sunny already thinks I'm an idiot._ But she does what she's told and runs in the opposite direction out from underneath the overpass and towards the street.

Ari hears another car approaching, dreading it to be another Decepticon, but then Sideswipe comes into view speeding towards her. The earth vibrates again and Ari knows she is being followed. She urges her legs to go faster. Sideswipes puts on his breaks with a loud squeal, swerving so that his side is facing her. The passenger's side door opens and Ari jumps in without slowing down. The door closes behind her, the seatbelt buckles, and Sideswipe takes off again. Still breathing heavily Ari looks behind them. Barricade is running after them still in his bipedal form. Sunstreaker, with a few new dents in his armor, runs up behind him and tackles the Decepticon to the ground. Not long after Sideswipe turns a corner and the battle is out of sight.

"Well," Ari says once she has her breath back and faces the front again. "That didn't exactly go according to plan. What now?"

"We get somewhere out of sight," Sides says, "somewhere abandoned."

"And then what?"

"And then we fight. No more running."

* * *

_**Author's Note**_

_Yeah...it's kind of a cliffy, isn't it? Lol sorry, but cliffies are fun to write.  
_

_Next chapter, we get the rest of Barricade and then...well...I would like it to be a surprise, but it may be best to warn you now:_

_WARNING! Next chapter, well, you remember how I said I would try to remember to warn you all when Ari's father would be dishing out some serious abuse? That's going to be next chapter. It's going to get bad. But you're also going to get a look as to why Ron abuses Ari so much. Then we won't be seeing the fragger for a while._

_And, next chapter, I get to do some cute stuff. Some really cute stuff...yeah, I'm looking forward to next chapter._

_Hope you enjoyed, PLEASE REVIEW, and see you all next time!_


	5. The Last Night

_**Author's Note**_

_Hello! Surprised to see me again already, aren't yah? Yeah, well, this chapter practically wrote itself. I've been looking forward to writing this one for a while. At least the end anyway. The middle though...I'm a horrible person. I was just awful to Ari. I swear I lost a piece of my soul writing that. Speaking of the middle, I have to do my warning now:  
_

_*WARNING* This chapter contains severe abuse. Although, actually, things never go all the way, you'll understand what I mean by that when you get there, but still. It's traumatic and disturbing. Not too too graphic since I was asked not to be. Anyway, it may not be for the faint of heart. The section starts shortly after Ari gets home and ends with the start of Sideswipe's point of view. Avoid everything in between and you should be able to get the gist of what's going on without having to witness all the details._

_With that said, let us move on to reviews:_

**_TigerLilly1995: _**_Don't worry, she's going to be okay. At least, in the long run she will be.  
_

**_oblivion-blade-princess:_**_Yes, the fluffy cuteness is amazing. I hope you think so, too._**_  
_**

**_Bee4ever: _**_No, she can't get a break. *sigh* I really am cruel. But if everything was butterflies and rainbows the story wouldn't be interesting. Glad you liked the prank. :) As for your later question, I never say it outright, but holoforms are introduced this chapter so I think you can get the idea.  
_

**_Stormin' Hudson: _**_No that is not sad since there were plenty of people who fell in love with it and there was only one chapter out at the time. XD I am very glad you like it and I hope you stay a loyal reader to the end. For the changing of the alt mode...you shall see this chapter. And for what Ratchet does when he meets Ari...you are a very good guesser, although the twins themselves will know everything before the others arrive.  
_

**_KeepingThemAtBay: _**_I tried not to be too graphic with the abuse. You don't have to worry about it being bloody though. What she goes through this chapter isn't bloody...It's something else._

**_Cloud-Dancer103: _**_Yes, I really love this chapter. So much going on! And cute...very cute. At least I think so.**  
**_

**_FourHorses: _**_Aww, thank you! ^_^_

**_movielover121796: _**_I try, I really do._

**_Neon: _**_And now more is here!_

**_ChemicalEquinox: _**_Glad to have made your day. :)_

**_velociraptor4659: _**_LOL! Yes, you will need a lot of those insults._

**_AndromedaAl: _**_Why thank you. ^_^_

_Okay, all done. You may go onward now._

* * *

_**The Last Night**_

It's not long until Barricade is hot on their trail again. They are in the heart of the city on their way to someplace deserted. Ari suggested the construction site on the other side of town. The sun is beginning to set so the workers should all be long gone by the time they get there.

However, Barricade is closing in on them with each car they pass. His superior speed and maneuverability is going to have him catch up to them before they get anywhere even remotely deserted. And he probably doesn't care about harming innocent humans caught in the crossfire. As soon as he is close enough he is going to transform and take them down.

Ari bites her lip. "Sideswipe, what are we going to do?"

"Slaggit," he growls. "I need more speed but this car is just not gonna cut it…wait…I think I see something that will work just nicely." Ari can hear the smile in his voice and wonders what he sees but before she can ask Sides is telling her to hang on.

"Why do I need to- holy crap!" With no other warning Sideswipe tilts onto two wheels so that his undercarriage is exposed to the opposing lane. Ari hangs onto the handle above her door for dear life as she precariously tries to stay in her seat. There is a flash of light and then they are on all four wheels again. She lets out a huff, part relief and part irritation. But then something really strange happens. All around Ari Sideswipe starts to…change, both inside and out. His interior changes to something smoother, more expensive. The exterior becomes sleeker, thinner, and the paint job changes from the red with black racing stripes to a solid, shinning silver. The entire car now looks brand new and modern, nothing like the outdated Hatchback. She strokes Sideswipe's new steering wheel in wonder. "Uh, what just happened?"

"Saw a sweet Corvette Sting Ray coming our way so I scanned it. This is now my new alt mode. What do you think?"

She smiles. "This is absolutely amazing."

"I knew you would like it," he says proudly. "Now hold on tight!" Sideswipe suddenly gains speed, sending Ari back against her seat. They are going much faster than before and a quick look in the rearview mirror shows Barricade steadily falling behind.

Ari laughs in delight, the drive through the city feeling like a roller coaster ride, though she hasn't been on one of those in years. Not since her mom left. Still, she remembers the rush of adrenalin and excitement bubbling in the pit of her stomach. When they approach the construction site a few minutes later just as the last rays of sunlight disappear below the horizon Ari is almost disappointed that they can't just keep going.

But the sound of metal shifting soon reminds her of why they were fleeing so fast. Ari turns in her seat to see Barricade transform into his bipedal form and leap at them. Sideswipe steps on the brakes in time for the Decepticon to fly overhead and land on the ground in front of them. Sideswipe skids to a halt to let Ari out. She backs away slowly as he, too, transforms into his bipedal form.

Ari watches Sideswipe in awe as he begins to fold and unfold into something more humanoid and stands up on his feet. No, he stands up on his _wheels_. Where feet would normally be are two of his tires so that it's like he has on one-wheeled roller blades. He is all glistening silver, lean metal, and the bluest blue eyes, or optics, Ari has ever seen.

"Wow," Ari can't help but whisper aloud.

Sideswipe flashes her a cocky grin and then lifts his fists in front of him. From the tops of both of his wrists pops out twin blades a good six feet long and deadly sharp. "Yeah, I know I'm awesome. Now run!"

Ari rolls her eyes and then turns tail just as Sides takes the first swipe at the Decepticon. She hears feet running behind her and looks back, thinking that maybe the construction site wasn't as abandoned as she thought, but it is not a human running after her. It is a weird, very human-like Cybertronian about the size of a child.

And he's chasing after her with devious intent in his red optics and one hand transformed into a saw.

Ari faces forward and puts on more speed with added urgency. Seeing a tool shed off to her right near the fence she runs towards it. Just before she makes it to the door the mini Decepticon jumps on her back. Ari screams as she tumbles to the ground rolling onto her back with the bot straddling her midsection. The Decepticon aims the saw at her throat but she catches his arm, holding him back. The bot is strong despite his childlike size. But Ari has had to fight off worse. With the bot's arm held firmly in both of her hands she pushes back, bending his arm to where she wants it to go, using its own saw to cut off its head. The head falls to the ground beside her and wiggles around, still very much alive, but the body goes limp. She pushes it off of her, gets up, and gives the Decepticon's head a swift kick, sending it flying.

Ari is just looking for her bag, which got discarded sometime when Sideswipe let her out before he transformed, when tires screech behind her followed by the sound of shifting metal again. She groans. "What now?"

She turns to see a yellow version of Sideswipe come rolling up on his wheeled feet, his own blades drawn as he rushes into battle to help Sides. Sunstreaker really is Sideswipe's twin, they look alike in almost every detail except Sunny is painted a golden yellow and has different blades. His are attached at the side of his wrists from where they curve outward beyond his fist about three feet, and also curve back along the length of his forearm where they connect again near his elbow. They look just as wicked as Sideswipe's, perfect for close combat.

And the way Sideswipe and Sunstreaker fight together. It is almost like a dance watching them fight Barricade, they are so in tuned with each other. When the Decepticon goes after one twin, the other moves in to attack from behind. If one twin misses, the other is already ducking underneath an arm to give a low blow. Move after move they flow together until Barricade lies on the ground, wires sparking and motionless, defeated.

The twins look at each other with triumphant grins as their blades retract back into their arms and then look down at Ari. She approaches them slowly, her head craning back to look up at them. They must be a good fifteen feet tall with Ari only coming up to their knees.

Sideswipe kneels in front of her with a kind smile, "Hey, Ari."

She half-smiles. "Hey, Sideswipe. So this is what you really look like?"

"Yep. You're not…afraid of me…are you?" he asks, sounding genuinely worried about her answer.

"Of course not," she says with a shake of her head. "Yeah, seeing my car turn into a giant robot is certainly…different…But I don't find it frightening. Like I said, I've seen and been through a lot worse."

Sunstreaker raises an optic ridge, arms crossed. "You just watched three alien robots duke it out, one of which was trying to kill you, and you say you've been through worse?"

Sideswipe sighs in exasperation. "Ari, this is my brother, Sunstreaker. Sunstreaker, this is Ari."

She gives a small, nervous wave. "Hello, Sunny."

"Don't call me that," he snaps with a glare.

"Sorry," she says with an apologetic smile. "Sides always calls you that. Guess it kind of rubbed off on me."

Sunny growls at his brother, who returns it with a mischievous smile, and looks back at her. "So, answer the question."

Ari looks up at him, face impassive but completely serious. "Yes, I have been through worse."

"Does this have anything to do with what's going on between you and your parental unit that Sides told me about?"

She winces as if he had struck her and looks away. She can't tell them. She just can't. But they already seem so close to finding out by themselves. What will they do, what will they think of her, when they realize what's going on?

Sunstreaker opens his mouth to say more but Sideswipe stands, places a hand on Sunny's shoulder, and the two brothers stare at each other for a long moment, probably communicating across the bond they share as twins that Sides described to her.

With a frustrated huff Sunstreaker says to her, "For a human, you sure do cause a lot of trouble."

Ari frowns. How is she trouble? Is she being burdensome to them?

Sideswipe hits his brother upside the head.

"Ow!" Sunny yells. "What the frag was that for? You better not have caused a dent. That fragging Decepticon left enough of them already. It's going to take forever to fix."

Sides rolls his optics. "That was for being an aft to Ari. We're _supposed_ to be protecting her, remember? Optimus's orders."

"Yeah, I get that, but he didn't say I have to be nice to her."

"Um, excuse me," Ari calls up hesitantly, waving her hand to get their attention. They both look at her with identical blank faces. "Why exactly were you ordered to protect me? You never did tell me yet."

The twins look at each other questioningly. Then Sideswipes looks at her and says, "It'll probably be better to wait for Optimus and the others to get here before we tell you that. He would probably explain it better anyway."

So the mystery continues as to why aliens have entered Ari's life. At least Optimus will be here tomorrow night. Ari just hopes that, whatever it is, it isn't bad.

And that when all of this is over Sideswipe will be able to stay.

* * *

(_**A/N: **_ WARNING, the bad stuff happens in this section. Not right away, but just thought I would give you one last heads up.)

By the time Ari gets home it is almost 11 o'clock. Way past her usual time in getting home. She isn't all that surprised to find her father's car in the driveway and lights on in the house. There isn't going to be any getting past Ron this time. He may even still be angry for that morning. _And_ she's driving up in a brand new Corvette Sting Ray. He's going to think she stole it when he sees it. All in all, things aren't looking too good.

But she has to go anyway.

"You okay, Ari?" Sideswipe asks as he shuts his engine off. "You seem kind of nervous.

"Um, yeah, I'm uh…," she wracks her brain for a plausible excuse while wiping her sweaty hands on her jeans. "I'm just, uh, worried that Barricade will come back is all." Yeah, he'll believe that.

"Don't worry about him. We left him as a pile of slag and Sunstreaker is patrolling the city right now looking for any other Decepticons. You're safe, Ari. Promise."

If only he knew the real danger is just inside her house and she's going to be walking to her death in a minute.

She forces a smile. "Yeah, you're probably right." She then gets out of the car to head inside, questions hurtling around inside her head all the way.

How bad is this going to be?

Is he going to leave visible signs that aren't so easily covered up this time?

How is she going to explain her injuries to Sideswipe and Sunstreaker if they notice?

What will they do if they find out?

Will they leave her?

_Don't be silly, Ari. Of course they won't leave you. They still need you for…well…whatever it is. _

She walks into the house, the door closing behind her with the thud of finality. Shuffling towards the living room she sees her father sitting on the couch, several bottles of already consumed alcohol strewn about him on the floor.

And next to him on the couch rests four lengths of twine rope and a roll of duct tape.

Ari stops, eyes wide, staring at the collected items. Exactly what is he planning?

Ron leans forward, elbows resting on his legs with his fingers intertwined between his knees. "So," he begins, his voice sounding dark and menacing, almost like it did in her nightmare the other night. "Where were you this time?"

"Out for a d-drive," she says barely above a whisper.

He snorts in disbelief. "Yeah. Right." He stands, picks up the twine and duct tape in one hand, and approaches her, backing her up against the wall to where their chests are centimeters apart and her nose crinkles in disgust at the smell of alcohol on his breath. "I know what you were doing. You were looking for a way out, weren't you? Going to tell someone? Or are you playing chicken and just looking for a place to go to when you run?"

"I-I'm not running away. And I haven't told anybody. I swear."

"I don't believe you." He grabs her right wrist with his free hand, pinning it painfully near her head. "That's what your mother said too."

Ari gasps. Her mother didn't just leave him but _ran away_ from him? Did he beat her all those years ago too? Ari doesn't remember. She was too young to notice such a thing at the time.

"But it was just a lie," he continues, squeezing her wrist tighter until she hisses in pain. "She found someone to take her away. Well, you're not doing the same. Not again. It will not happen again!"

He yanks her away from the wall, towards the stairs, causing her to hit her head against the railing. Stars explode in her head and everything becomes blurry. She tries to make her limbs move but they feel disconnected from her body. But she does feel Ron pick her up and fling her over his shoulder.

"You know what happened to me at work today?" he asks as his feet clomp up the stairs. "I got fired. Yep, my boss says I have anger issues. That I'm losing the bank clients because of them. It's not my fault some people are idiots. That's what I told him. I've worked at that bank for twenty years, I'm better than any of those other nitwits, and what do I get? I get thrown out like trash!"

Ron walks them into his bedroom, kicks the door closed, and throws Ari onto his fourposter bed. She scrambles to get to the edge of the bed and back on her feet but he's there again in an instant, lying on top of her, pinning her down with the length of his body. She struggles, thrashing about as hard as she can, but it's no use. He's too heavy, too strong. She opens her mouth the scream for help but then his hand is covering her mouth. He tears a length of duct tape off of the roll with his teeth and then uses it to keep her mouth shut.

Slowly, one limb at a time, he takes the twine rope and secures her wrists and ankles to the bedposts to where her arms and legs are painfully splayed apart.

_God, please no. Not this. Anything but this._

When he is finished tying her down he places himself between her legs. He pets her hair gently. "You know, you remind me so much of your mother. Same reddish-brown hair." His hand moves to stroke her face. "Same pale blue eyes." His thumb runs over her lips through the tape. "Same rosy lips." His hand moves downward between their bodies to the hem of her shirt. He yanks the fabric up until it is bunched beneath her armpits and he gropes her chest. Bile rises in Ari's throat. "Same everything. Same as Judy." He stares at her reverently with crazed eyes. "Judy…My Judy."

_I…I don't think he sees me anymore._

While one hand stays at her chest the other moves to the duct tape, starting to peel it back. She takes in a deep breath through her nose, ready to scream, but then he crushes her mouth with his so that it comes out as a muffled squeal.

_What do I do?_

His lips are wet and sloppy as they move against hers. She tries to move her head away but he holds her still by grabbing her roughly by the hair, yanking hard.

_Please, God, tell me what I have to do to make this stop. Please, just make it stop._

Tears start to stream down her face as he forces his tongue into her mouth, almost making her gag.

She gets an idea. With all the force she has she bites down on his tongue until she tastes blood. He pulls his head back with a yowl of pain, blood dripping down his chin. He smacks her hard across the face with the back of his hand.

It hurts like crazy but she still has enough time to take in a deep breath of air one more time and scream, "Sideswipe!"

Ron looks at her as if she has two heads. "Sideswipe? Judy, what nonsense are you spouting now? Just be quiet while I love you. You don't want to wake the neighbors, do you?"

No, she doesn't want to wake the neighbors. But it wasn't the neighbors she was trying to wake. Ari can hear the sound of metal shifting coming from outside the bedroom window facing the front of the house.

Over Ron's shoulder she sees a metal face with two brilliant blue optics looking in at them through the glass.

* * *

Everything seems fine as Sideswipe drops Ari off at her house, although she does seem nervous. She says it's because of the Decepticons, but he isn't so sure. He has a feeling she's lying. He lets her go in anyway, listening for any sign she is in trouble. When he hears nothing Sides prepares to go into recharge.

That's when he hears her scream his name.

A jolt of fear surges through Sideswipe's spark and he transforms, not caring if any humans see him. His charge is in trouble. Ari needs him.

The scream seemed to have come from one of the upstairs rooms so he looks in through the window to see what is attacking her.

What he sees is…confusing.

Ari is tied down to a berth, shirt lifted up to reveal her mostly-uncovered chest, and her parental unit on top of her.

Sides isn't sure he knows what is going on, but the pleading look Ari gives him is all he needs to know that she is in trouble and her father is hurting her.

With an angry roar Sideswipe smashes his fist through the window. Her father only has a fraction of a second to turn around before Sideswipe smacks him off of Ari, not hard enough to kill him but enough to send him flying into the wall by the door, knocking him unconscious. He then breaks Ari's bindings, wraps his hand around her, and brings her out to him.

He cradles her in his arms as she shakes violently. Ari manages to get her shirt to cover herself again and curls into a ball, sobs wracking her body.

Had he seen the word "unwanted" carved into her stomach?

"Ari," he says gently, lifting her to his face. "Ari, what's going on? What was your parental unit trying to do to you?"

Ari's crying makes it hard for her to talk but he does make out the word "rape." Not knowing what it is, Sideswipe looks it up on the internet, though when he sees the word "sex" he has to look that up as well. He is at first curious, then disgusted, then understanding starts to filter in. Then he is horrified. Then absolutely furious.

Sideswipe holds Ari securely in his arms against his chassis right next to his spark, allowing her to feel its warmth, its energy, hoping it will calm her. It always worked before. But it is still a long time before the sobs dissolve into sniffles and the tremors fade away. He looks down at her, sparkbroken, wishing she did not have this happen to her.

And he's going to make sure nothing like this ever happens again.

"Ari, you can't stay here anymore," he tells her. She seems numb and distant but she does nod in acknowledgment. Sideswipe lifts her back up to the broken window and she steps inside. "Go to your room and pack a bag for a few days. We'll come back for the rest later." She doesn't move, eying her father warily. Honestly, Sideswipe doesn't trust her in there alone with such a monster either. Then he remembers something, an invention Ratchet made just before they left Cybertron in preparation for whatever planet they ended up on so they could more easily blend in. He decides to give it a shot. Ari would probably be more comfortable handling him in a more familiar form anyway. "Stay right there, I'll be there in a minute."

"What," Ari's voice comes out hoarse. She coughs, trying to clear it. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to activate my holoform. You'll see in a minute. Just don't freak out."

Ari gives him a confused look as Sideswipe backs away from the window and reverts back into his alt mode, parking in the driveway once more. He activates his holoform and for a moment everything goes black.

When Sideswipe opens his eyes again everything feels so…different. For one, he can feel so much more. Humans have so many more nerve receptors than Cybertronians do. And his size. It is so weird suddenly being only six feet tall. He looks down at his hands, his now pink, fleshy hands, turning them around and wiggling his fingers experimentally. Everything appears to be working correctly which is a relief considering Ratchet didn't have a whole lot of time to work on the holoforms. He looks around him at the tiny human room, now not so tiny to him. Ari still stands at the window looking out at his alt mode probably wondering what in the world a holoform is. He grins and says, "Hey, Ari."

* * *

Ari hears someone say her name behind her and she jumps, turning around in fright thinking her father has woken up already.

What she sees is a total stranger. He's tall, she only coming up to about his shoulder, with semi-long, messy black hair, handsome features, lean muscles tucked snugly in faded jeans and a gray t-shirt, and the bluest blue eyes that are somehow familiar. She peers into them closely, remembering Sideswipe's words not to freak out.

"Sides?" she asks curiously.

The stranger grins, revealing perfectly white teeth. "Yep, it's me. This is my holoform. Like a hologram but, you know, it has an actual solid form. See?" He reaches out and touches her shoulder.

She winces and takes a step back. Yes, he is certainly solid. And very human-like. Too much, apparently, for her frayed mind that hasn't been able to stand normal human contact for a long, long time. She knows it is Sideswipe, that he would never hurt her. His body isn't even technically a human body, but it still doesn't matter. It's probably now going to be worse than before after…_that_…almost happened to her. It's frustrating, always has been, especially when she's around people she actually likes, like Hal and her other coworkers at the diner, but she just can't help it. Touch just reminds her too much of pain now.

Sideswipe takes a step towards her, hand still outstretched, his face etched with worry wondering why she would shy away from him. Her muscles automatically tense at his closeness with the hairs on her arms standing on end. She takes another step back. "I'm sorry but please just…just don't."

He lets his hand drop with a sad sigh. "Go get some things packed. I'm going to go tie up your dad in case he wakes up before we're gone."

Ari nods and heads towards her room. In her closet is a duffel bag and she drags it out. She stuffs it with a couple of days' worth of clothes, one or two of her books, her laptop, her school things, hairbrush, toothbrush, toothpaste, and other necessities. While looking to see if there is anything else she may need anytime soon her eyes fall upon the picture frame containing the only photo of her mother she has. She picks it up, staring back at the face that her father apparently sees every time he looks at Ari. The face that left her husband to save herself while leaving her daughter alone with a man she knows is a monster.

Ari tosses the frame back in her closet, not caring what happens to it, and walks out the door.

* * *

Ari is quiet the entire drive as Sideswipe takes them someplace…well…he really doesn't know where they should go. He just knew he couldn't allow her to stay in that house for another minute. But at the end of the road they end up at the cliff where he played her that song overlooking endless grasslands. It's completely private, not another person for miles.

As soon as they stop Ari get out, walking to the edge of the cliff to stare out at the blackness of night.

Sideswipe isn't sure what to do. She's hurting, badly, but there's no way he can fix it. If only he had figured it out sooner, that her dad is abusive. He should have known, he had seen the cuts on her arm, saw her angry father, and yet he sent her back to him like a horse for slaughter. If he had only been more observant, if he had taken better care of her, then none of this would have happened.

But he cannot go back in time to fix past mistakes.

But maybe he can help her move past this horrible nightmare. It may not be much, but he can be there for her. He can comfort her.

Sideswipe activates his holoform and approaches her tentatively. He places a hand on her shoulder gently but still Ari flinches away from him. He pulls his hand back, palm forward to appear less threatening. "Sorry. I…I was just trying to help. Did I…Did I do something wrong? Did I hurt you?"

She looks at him with alarm and says quickly, "No, no, it's not your fault, Sideswipe. It's just…." Tears start to stream down her face again, sparkling in the moonlight, and her voice becomes slightly squeaky. "I can't. I just can't. He's hurt me for so long and it…Every time someone, anyone, touches me it feels like _he's_ touching me. My mind and body just can't tell the difference anymore."

Sides stands there helplessly as Ari covers her face with her hands and sobs, her frail shoulders shaking. He wants to touch her but from what she said he will only hurt her more.

But if she can't stand human touch, then what about someone not human?

He deactivates his holoform and quickly transforms into his bipedal mode. Sideswipe rolls over to her, gets down on his knees, and carefully, slowly, reaches out a hand to touch her shoulder again.

* * *

When something touches her shoulder again Ari instantly shies away from the unknown thing, but when she looks up she sees, through blurry eyes, that it is Sideswipe's hand, his real hand made, not out of flesh, but of metal. She steps closer to him, wondering if, since he is not human, it will be different. Seeing her willingness, Sideswipe reaches out again until his large thumb strokes her cheek to wipe away the tears that rest there. She stands still, waiting for the same anxious, uncomfortable feeling, like that of a trapped animal, to wash over her.

But it never comes.

He strokes her cheek again and this time Ari leans into the touch. It's been so long, so very, very long, since she has last been touched and it feel completely normal to her. Which is an odd thought considering Sideswipe is a far cry from what most people would call normal. His thumb alone covers her entire cheek and he is made out of metal, though it is comfortably warm unlike the coldness she would have expected to feel. Still, he is a gigantic alien who could crush her if he's not careful.

And yet she feels safer with him than she ever has before.

Fresh tears start to stream down her face though this time with relief, joy, happiness, feelings she hardly remembers ever feeling before she met Sideswipe.

Sides frowns. He begins to move his hand away, thinking that his touch is still hurting her, but she grabs his hand, holding it to her face. His thumb resumes catching her tears as the rest of his fingers curl behind her, resting against her neck and upper back. His optics look over her face curiously as he asks, "What's wrong?"

She gives him a wet smile. "Nothing. I-I'm okay. For once I actually feel okay."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Really." He grins as Ari closes her eyes, relishing in the feeling of Sideswipe touching her, of being touched and not feeling pain and fear. Her mind begins to wonder back to the same place but a different time, when the air was filled with music and a promise.

**The last night you'll spend alone**

**I'll wrap you in my arms and I won't let go**

She opens her eyes again, looking up at Sideswipe. "Hey, Sides?"

"Yeah, Ari?"

"Will you…." Her cheeks flush slightly as the words catch in her throat. She doesn't really know how to ask what she wants to ask, so instead she lifts up her arms to him, hoping the universal gesture is known even where he's from.

Apparently it is. He gives her a soft smile and nods, gently lifting her up into his arms so that she is draped across his right forearm with his left cupping her to his chassis, holding her close to his spark, and his hand continuing to stroke the side of her face.

They stay like this for a long time. When Ari is just on the edge of unconsciousness she feels Sideswipe lie down, still holding her to his chest, so that they can both fade away into peaceful oblivion. Her final thought is that she now truly believes that everything is going to be okay.

So long as Sideswipe is by her side.

* * *

_**Author's Note**_

_Holy Primus, a lot happened this chapter! I don't even know where to begin. Ari officially meets Sunny (yay), we see Ari's father going a tad crazy (though that might be an understatement), and for those of you who skipped that part Ron almost raped Ari. **Almost** being the operative word. Sideswipe saves her before things get too far. Now that you know, you may want to try going back to read it so that you get a better picture of Ron and why he does what he does. It really isn't that bad, but it's up to you. _

_Anyway, then we have the introduction of holoforms. Yes, I am going to have Ari interacting with Sideswipe's holoform all throughout their relationship, but I wanted to make sure it stays relatively even and her not favoring one over the other. Sure, interacting with his holoform makes the size difference easier, but it's still not really him. But, again, his bipedal form certainly makes a bot/human relationship difficult. So, I figured we would just ease into it and her aversion to human contact works perfectly for the plan I cooked up and it's a very plausible situation. Many victims of abuse have a hard time handling human contact even a long time after the abuse has ended. Plus, it adds to the conflict as Ari tries to overcome this obstacle in her life._

_And that leads me onto the cute stuff at the end. She may not be able to handle human contact, but I figured a giant alien robot who's her protector would be an entirely different story. I hope you all liked it. ^_^_

_Okay, hope you enjoyed, PLEASE REVIEW, and see you all next time!_


	6. Battle Scars

_**Author's Note**_

_Wow, I really am on a roll now, aren't I? Although this chapter was kind of easy. A fairly good sized hunk of it was just movie stuff. Can you guess what part I'm talking about? Optimus and the other Autobots arrive of course! So, that means more and more of this is going to be stuff from the movie but hopefully I can still keep it fairly different to where it's not boring.  
_

_Speaking of movie stuff, I can't believe none of you noticed last chapter. Or you noticed but didn't say anything in your reviews. You were all happy that Sideswipe got Ari away from Ron and that we probably won't be seeing him again for a while, but that isn't exactly true. She has to go back home again. The reason? Well, you all know it. It's the reason why the Autobots need her in the first place, which hasn't changed at all from the movie and it's all set up for it and everything. But none of you noticed: I said that Ari packed clothes for a couple of days, some books, hairbrush, toothbrush, toothpaste, and other necessities, but what is the one thing that the Autobots need that I didn't mention her packing?_

_Okay, now that I have you on the edge of your seats I shall now go on to the reviews:_

**_FourHorses: _**_Well, you get your wish this chapter, but Lennox won't be coming for another chapter or two. I'm really looking forward to that one myself. I just love Lennox._

**_Cloud-Dancer103: _**_ Awww, thank you!_

**_TigerLilly1995: _**_I'm not entirely sure exactly how in-depth I'm going to go into Ron's character, but the first movie isn't going to be the last we see of him so maybe I'll be able to do it then. Honestly, I haven't outlined exactly what I'm going to do much beyond the first movie yet. But for now you're just going to have to keep guessing._

**_oblivion-blade-princess: _**_Thanks, I was wondering if I did a good job describing that or not._

**_Neon: _**_I am sorry for causing you pain. But hopefully fluffy stuff makes up for it?_

**_Guest: _**_To whoever you are, since it only says Guest, thank you for liking my story. ^_^_

**_JerseyPrime23: _**_Thanks a lot!  
_

**_velociraptor4659: _**_Lol don't worry, you will get more hugs._

**_AndromedaAl: _**_Yes, it is good she got out of there...but now she has to go back MWAHAHAHAHA!_

**_SunnySides: _**_I live for mush and fluff too so there will be plenty of it._

**_Bee4ever: _**_Yes, but how long will it last?_

**_KeepingThemAtBay: _**_You are welcome for the warnings. And yes, the rest of the Autobots are coming this chapter._

**_Angel3055: _**_Yes, Sideswipe will definitely help Ari break out of the barrier she's built up. If only I had all of this written out already so you guys could see the Ari she's going to become. She looks so different in my mind than she does now and I'm going to have so much fun writing down her transformation. (that pun was not intended but it so fits)  
_

**_Autobotsrawesome: _**_Thank you!_

_Okay, with all of that done and the suspense built you may now go onward!_

* * *

_**Battle Scars**_

Sideswipe comes back online to an unfamiliar yet comfortable weight on his chassis. Looking down he sees Ari lying across his chest, sound asleep with her mouth slightly open, and his hands covering her body like blankets. His processor spins for a few seconds before he remembers the events of the previous day.

And night.

Ari's parental unit. The unspeakable things he tried to do to her.

He lays his head back down staring up at the gradually lightening sky. It's unbelievable that a parental unit can do such a thing to his own sparkling. How long had it been going on for, the abuse? Weeks? Months? Years? Sides would guess the latter considering some of the scars on her arm, when he got a glimpse at them just the day before, looked fairly old. And that first morning he was at her house, she had come out limping. That probably means he beat her too. What other kind of horrors has Ari had to endure? Anger bubbles in Sideswipe's spark just thinking about it.

"_Hey, Sides, what's going on?"_ Sunstreaker asks through the bond. _"I can feel your anger through the bond. Felt it yesterday too. Since you didn't call for backup I figured everything was fine but…you usually only get this mad if a Decepticon is involved._

Sideswipe sighs and looks down at Ari again. Should he wait for Ari's permission before he tells his brother? Then again, there is no keeping secrets from Sunstreaker. The bond kind of makes it impossible. And he doesn't want to have to lie to his brother. Sideswipe decides to go ahead and tell him, figuring Sunstreaker would better understand if it came from his brother anyway.

When he is finished Sunny is silent for long time, though Sides can feel the anger radiating off of him.

"_That…_fragger_,"_ Sunny says coldly. _"That's Decepticon cruel. Please tell me you did something to him?"_

"_I knocked him against a wall," _Sides replies, _"Couldn't kill him, of course. Optimus's orders. Though maybe he'll make an exception with this one."_

"_We can only hope."_

Sideswipe chuckles a little. _"Yeah, but he probably won't. We can't just go around killing humans, no matter what they do, or else the rest of them won't ever trust us."_

"_Can we at least prank him then?"_

"_I kind of already did that, although he deserves a return visit. Maybe a few."_

"_What did you do?"_

"_I duct taped him to a chair."_

"_What's duct tape?"_

"_It's amazing stuff, really. It's like a kind of plastic strip all rolled up and is sticky on one side. I wrapped him up in it real good. The only way he's getting out of there is if he somehow gets a hold of something sharp or someone helps him."_

"_Very nice. But you're right. He's going to need to undergo a couple more pranks."_

Ari moves on Sideswipe's chassis, beginning to stir from her slumber. _"Ari's starting to wake up. You done with your patrol yet?"_

"_Yeah, didn't find any more Decepticons, but they're probably still out there. Somewhere."_

"_Nothing we can do about it now. Not until they show themselves. How about you meet up with us? I don't think we're going to be going anywhere for a while."_

"_Alright, send me the coordinates and I'll see you soon."_

"_See you soon."_

* * *

Warmth. That's the first thing Ari notices when she starts to come back to the waking world. There is warmth all around her, especially below her. That's where it's strongest. What's odd is that she doesn't appear to be in her bed. The surface she's on is too hard, but not uncomfortable. In fact, it feels really nice, especially with the warmth, and she doesn't want to move. But she knows she has to. She has to get ready for school. Her alarm hasn't gone off yet, but it probably will soon. Might as well get started now. The sooner she leaves, the less likely she'll be to run into Ron.

Wait. Ron.

Memories flash behind her still-closed eyelids. Horrific memories. Things she wishes she could forget. Tears build in her eyes and she lets out a small whimper as she remembers the feel of Ron's rough hands on her smooth skin.

Something warm and metal caresses her back comfortingly. She wonders why she's not scared of it, but then she remembers that too.

Sideswipe. He saved her. Then held her as she cried. And she let him. She's miraculously unafraid of his touch.

Ari opens her eyes, expecting to see Sideswipe looking down at her lying on the ground or something, but that's not where she is. She is lying on her stomach across Sideswipe's chassis right above his spark. That's what's making the warmth. And his hands, they're cupping her to him, his thumb gently stroking her back. Tilting her head up she sees a pair of blue optics staring at her filled with worry.

"Good morning," he whispers as if speaking too loud will somehow break whatever calm she is trying to hold onto. "You okay?"

"As good as can be expected," she says, sniffling and rubbing her eyes dry. She then looks out over the grassy hills to see the sun already all the way out from behind the horizon. "What time is it?"

He raises an optic ridge. "Do you really care?"

She thinks about it for only a second. "You're right. I really don't. Not really a reason to go and…Ron might go looking for me there." She chuckles softly. "It's funny. This will be my first absence in…years. I've always gone to school, even when really sick."

"Why would you push yourself so hard?"

Ari lays her cheek back down against his chest plate looking out towards the horizon and not at Sides. "Because I'd rather be sick at school than at home with _him_ any longer than I have to be."

Sideswipe squeezes her gently. "Do you want to…tell me about it now?"

She's been dreading this moment. Ari knew he would ask eventually after yesterday's events. But the idea of talking about it, of _telling_ someone when all her life she's lived in fear that someone would find out and she would be punished for it. It scares her. Even more, how will he react once he finds out the whole truth? How will he see her then? Will he be disgusted with her? Pity her?

Will he leave her?

_He hasn't left you yet, Ari_, she reminds herself. _Not even after what he saw yesterday. He stayed and comforted you. Even held you all throughout the night._

She looks up at him again. He'll tell her it's okay if she doesn't want to tell him now. She knows he will. Like last time. She can chicken out if she wants and he'll be perfectly okay with it. He won't pressure her. This is her decision and hers alone.

At that moment they hear a car approaching and Ari looks up in alarm thinking it's a human who's about to see a giant robot. Or, even worse, it's a Decepticon.

"It's just Sunny," Sides tells her before she can voice her concern. "I told him to meet us here. And I already told him about…yesterday." He glances at her warily. "I hope you don't mind."

She shakes her head. "No, it's okay. I didn't expect you to keep it a secret from your brother. You already told me something like that is hard to do anyway, what with the bond and all."

Sideswipe sighs in relief as Sunstreaker comes around the corner, his alt form being a very bright yellow sports car.

"What kind of car is that exactly?"

"It's a Lamborghini Gallardo," Sides says with a smirk.

"Oh. It's very…."

"Ostentatious. Yeah, I know. But that's Sunny for ya."

Ari laughs, the sound coming out slightly choked, and she wipes at her face one more time to make sure all of the tears are gone. Sideswipe sits up cross-legged and places Ari on one knee, still keeping a hand cupped around her, just as Sunstreaker pulls up and transforms.

"Hey," he says as greeting. "Got Optimus on the Comm Link on the way here. He said he and the others will be here in a couple of joors. They'll probably make planetfall a little after dusk. What do you want to do til then?"

Sideswipe shrugs. "Don't know. Nothing really to do. Hang out here I guess. Humans don't come out here much so we won't have to be in our alt modes all day."

Sunstreaker sits down facing his brother, although glancing at the dirt with a slight look of disgust. "So we're just going to sit here all day?"

"Well, you got any better ideas?"

The two begin to quibble on how to pass the time but Ari tunes them out, looking down and playing with the hem of her shirt. She keeps thinking back to Sideswipe's words. Should she tell them? If she were to tell anyone, it would be them. She's never trusted anyone more fully, even Sunstreaker though she hasn't known him as long. Really, she hasn't known either of them long. But they both have saved her in more ways than one.

"I'll tell you," she says, barely above a whisper. Neither of them heard of course and she sighs. It was so hard to get out the first time. But she gathers her courage again and says it louder this time, "I'll tell you."

Both brothers stop arguing and stare at her, Sunstreaker in confusion and Sideswipe in shock.

"Are you sure?" Sides asks.

Sunny raises an optic ridge. "What's she talking about?"

"I'll tell you about…what's happened to me," she explains and Sunstreaker's eyes widen in understanding. "And yes, I'm sure."

They both nod in encouragement and she begins. She tells them of the day her mother left, including the new information she learned from Ron last night. That she left him to get away from the abuse and just abandoning her daughter to fend for herself. She tells them of her first beating. And all those that followed with greater and greater intensity. She rolls up her sleeves and pant legs to show them her scars, naming them one by one, describing how she got them. That had been hard. Ari's scars are so…ugly to her. She's ashamed of them, of her weakness to letting them happen. If she was stronger, then maybe they wouldn't have happened. She could have gotten the courage to run away. But she didn't. Because she was scared. Scared of what would happen to her. She has nowhere else to go.

Then her hands go to the hem of her shirt again. She should show them this one. But it's so much worse than all the others. So much uglier. And so true in Ari's mind. That she is unwanted.

"You alright, Ari?" Sideswipe asks after she's been silent for a few minutes.

She bites her lip. "There's…there's one more I have to show you but…."

"Is it bad?" Sunny asks quietly.

She nods.

"You don't have to show us if you don't want to."

"Yes, I do. I need to show you all of them. If I don't now, then I may never will." With a deep breath Ari closes her eyes tight and lifts up her shirt to reveal her stomach before she loses her nerve. She hears their intake of breath and knows they see it, the word "unwanted" carved into the smooth skin. She turns her head away even though she already can't see the looks on their faces. She doesn't want to see it, the disgust and, even worse, the pity.

"You really have been through worse."

Ari opens her eyes and hesitantly looks up at Sunstreaker from behind the sweep of her bangs. There is sadness in his face, like she expected, but there isn't disgust. Instead, she sees anger and determination. She looks up at Sideswipe and sees the same. Gently, he places a finger on her hand still holding up her shirt and guides it down. She looks at the brothers, head swiveling back and forth. "You…you don't think I'm disgusting and w-weak?"

"Of course not, Ari," Sides says as he lifts her up into his arms to hold her against his chassis. "We wish you didn't ever have to go through all of this but we don't think it makes you disgusting and it definitely doesn't make you weak. If anything it shows how strong you are to be able to endure so much and to still keep going."

"He's right," Sunny says. "You're stronger than a lot of Autobots I used to know. They went through similar torture when captured by Decepticons but they weren't strong enough to survive like you did. And it didn't last for several stellar cycles."

Ari has never thought of it like that. That just being able to survive Ron's abuse means she's strong.

She _is_ strong.

Her chest seems to lighten all of a sudden, as if some huge weight has been lifted off of her chest. And it's all because of these two alien robots. She gives them a warm smile. "Thank you. You guys have no idea how much it means for me to hear you say that."

Without saying a word, the three of them decide to switch topics, and Sunstreaker offers one up by showing Ari all of his scars, recounting each of the battles he fought while obtaining them. He has a lot more than Ari would have thought considering how much he cares about his looks. After a while Sideswipes puts Ari back down on his knee so he can show her a few of his own.

They have so many scars like her, though they are battle scars. But it makes Ari wonder. Maybe one day she won't be so ashamed of her scars, like Sides and Sunny, and be able to wear them proudly instead of covering them up. Maybe one day she can see them as battle scars, too.

* * *

As the sun begins to set they decide to head out, stopping at a fast food place along the way so Ari can change out of the clothes she is still wearing from the day before, freshen up a little bit, and grab a bite to eat. Then they make their way to the coordinates Optimus sent them for the meeting place.

When they are about halfway there, in the middle of the city, there is a bright flash of light in the sky. Sideswipe pulls over with Sunstreaker following behind.

"What's going on?" Ari asks.

"It's them." Sideswipe says. "They're entering Earth's atmosphere. Go on. Take a look."

She steps out of the car and raises her eyes up to the sky. Four streaks of light move across the blackness. They look almost like shooting stars, but as they get closer and closer to the city she realizes that they are huge, like giant meteors. They pass right overhead and collide with the earth one by one with a distant boom. Ari quickly get back inside Sideswipe so they can get going.

The twins take her to a deserted alleyway in between several buildings. As Ari gets out again to stand in front of Sideswipe's hood four vehicles pull up: a large black truck, a rescue vehicle, a very expensive looking silver car, though different than Sideswipe, and a blue semi with red flames. One by one the Cybertronians transform into their bipedal modes including Sideswipe and Sunstreaker behind her. Ari stares wide eyed at the one that was the semi, who towers over her, making her feel like an ant.

"Holy frag," she whispers in awe. "And I thought Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were big."

The semi looks at Sides and Sunny with a raised optic ridge and then kneels down to be on level with her. "Are you Arianna Samantha Witwicky, descendant of Archibald Witwicky?" She winces slightly at the use of her full name, Ron being the only one to ever call her that, but nods. "My name is Optimus Prime. I would tell you where we are from but I have a feeling you already know." He looks up at the twins again. "How much have you told her?"

"Not too, too much," Sideswipe says sounding like an embarrassed kid caught stealing a cookie.

"Enough to learn our curse words though," the rescue vehicle says disapprovingly.

Oops. Ari forgot that their original orders were to not make contact with her and she just gave it away that they did. "It's not their fault," she says, causing everyone to look back down at her. "They had to reveal themselves in order to protect me."

"Yeah, Barricade showed up," Sunny says, although hedging the truth slightly. She appreciates it, having already asked them not to tell the others about Ron and everything.

Optimus looks slightly suspicious but lets it slide, "In that case it is alright."

"Hey, what about introducin' the rest of us?" the silver one says sounding similar to a gangster.

"Very well," Optimus says. "This is my first lieutenant, designation: Jazz."

"This looks like a cool place to kick it," Jazz says and sits down on a dumpster, striking a pose.

Ari giggles. "Where did he learn to talk like that?"

"We've learned Earth's languages through the World Wide Web." Optimus then turns to the one who was the black truck. "My weapons specialist, Ironhide."

Ironhide's hands transform into a pair of cannons, aiming them at Ari. "You feeling lucky, punk?"

Ari lets out a small eep and runs behind Sideswipe's leg.

"Easy, Ironhide," Optimus warns.

"Just kidding. I just wanted to show her my cannons." Thankfully, he puts them away.

"Don't worry, Ari," Sideswipe says, looking down at her. "He's just messing around."

She steps out from her hiding place, though still a little wary of Ironhide, in order to receive the last of the introductions.

Optimus continues, "Our medical officer, Ratchet."

A red light briefly flashes over Ari's body. "What was that?" she asks.

"My scanners," Ratchet explains. "Since you were attacked by Barricade I thought it best to make sure you are okay."

_A little warning would have been nice._ Then she realizes something. If he scanned her, then he's going to see…

"That's strange," he says. "You appear to have been injured several times over a long period of ti-"

"So why are you all here?" Ari hurriedly interrupts, looking up at Optimus. Ratchet lets out an annoyed huff but lets it go. "Sideswipe and Sunstreaker haven't told me that part yet."

"We are here looking for the AllSpark," Optimus says. "And we must find it before Megatron." He touches the side of his head activating some sort of hologram that shines from his eyes. All around Ari the scenery changes to that of a desolated planet. "Our planet was once a powerful empire. Peaceful and just. Until we were betrayed by Megatron, leader of the Decepticons."

The hologram shows a very menacing Decepticon with sharp teeth and horrible red eyes, reminding Ari very much of her nightmare.

"Our war finally consumed the planet, and the AllSpark was lost to the stars. Megatron followed it to Earth, where Captain Witwicky found him."

_My grandfather?_

The scene plays out before Ari's eyes of how her ancestor found Megatron in some sort of underground ice cave. "Megatron crash-landed before he could retrieve the cube and your grandfather accidentally activated Megatron's navigation system. The coordinates to the Cube's location on Earth were then imprinted on his glasses."

"How did you know about his glasses?" Ari asks as the hologram fades away.

"EBay."

"If the Decepticons find the AllSpark," Ratchet interjects, "they will use its power to transform Earth's machines and build a new army."

"And the human race will be extinguished." Optimus stands back up. "Ari Witwicky, you hold the key to Earth's survival."

The fate of the world placed on her shoulders and all because of a pair of glasses she was trying to sell them on eBay for college tuition. Ari shakes her head in disbelief. All of this just keeps getting crazier and crazier.

But there is one slight problem.

She turns and looks back up at Sideswipe anxiously. "Sides, the glasses aren't one of the things I grabbed before leaving home."

Sides looks at her in horror and then angrily bangs his fist against his forehead. "Slagslagslag. I should have just told you. Why didn't I just tell you? I could have at least told you to take them with you and not said why, but no. I was too focused on just getting out of there that I didn't think." He sighs and looks at Ari with a pained expression. "I'm sorry, Ari. I'm so, so sorry, but we're going to have to go back to your house to get the glasses."

* * *

Luckily none of the Autobots ask any questions as they all head to Ari's house, but Sideswipe knows it isn't going to last. At the very least Ratchet is going to want some answers for those scans he took. He saw the scars. Sides knows it. Ari knows it. She kept him from saying anything for now, but it's only a matter of time. And then Optimus is going to get involved, of course. After that it won't be long until all the others know. That's exactly what Ari didn't want to have happen, that's why she swore Sunny and he to secrecy, but if they ask will Sideswipe really be able to disobey his commanding officer?

Well, he's going to find out, for on the way to Ari's house Ratchet opens up a privet Comm Link with Sideswipe.

::Ratchet, to Sideswipe, come in Sideswipe.::

Might as well get it over with. ::Yeah, I'm here. What is it?::

::Ratchet and I have some questions regarding the scans Ratchet took of Ari,:: Optimus says, apparently being a part of the Comm Link as well.

He sighs. ::Let me just patch in Sunstreaker and we'll try to answer your questions as best we can.:: There, no guarantees. ::Sunny? You there?::

::Yeah, what is it?:: Sunstreaker replies over the Comm Link.

::Optimus and Ratchet want to know about what was found from Ari's scans.::

::Exactly what all _did _you see, Ratchet?::

::I saw multiple places on her body where there is scar tissue, indicating that she has been severely cut and/or stabbed multiple times and on multiple occasions. The ones on her stomach that look like they are deliberately carved out to spell the word "unwanted" are especially disturbing. Also, there is evidence that, throughout her life, she has sustained fractures and breaks to her left leg, both her arms, and on five of her ribs. Lastly, she seems to be very malnourished, although it is nothing life-threatening yet."

"_Slagit, Sides, what do we do?" _Sunstreaker asks over the bond. _"She asked us not to say anything."_

"_And we won't,"_ Sideswipe says. _"At least, nothing that will add to what they already know."_

::Did either of you know of Ari's condition?:: Optimus asks.

::Yes.:: Sideswipe says hesitantly. ::But not until recently.::

::Do you know the cause of her injuries? And do they have anything to do with why she was hesitant to return to her home?::

::She…asked us not to say.::

::Sideswipe, you need to tell us,:: Ratchet says sternly. ::Ari's life could be in grave danger.::

::We already know that,:: Sunny growls.

::Then why keep it from us?::

::Because we already have a handle on it,:: Sides says with determination. ::Trust us, the one responsible for Ari's condition is _never_ going to harm her again. We'll make sure of it. Also, like I said, she asked us not to say anything to anyone. We will not betray her trust.::

::Optimus, as Chief Medical Officer, I must insist you not allow this.::

Optimus is silent over the Comm Link for a long time. If he orders Sides and Sunny to talk….

::Stand down, Ratchet,:: Optimus orders.

Ratchet scoffs in surprise, ::But Optimus-::

::I know what is at stake, but I have chosen to trust in Sideswipe's and Sunstreaker's judgment. If they say that they can handle it, then I believe that they will. I also do not want to force information from them that Ari wishes to keep private. She is our first human ally and will hopefully trust us enough one day to call us friend. Breaking that trust now would not be wise.::

Ratchet grumbles unintelligible words in Cybertronian but then says ::Yes, sir.:: and disconnects from the Comm Link.

::Thank you, sir,:: Sides says with relief.

::You are welcome. If ever the time comes when you need our help in this matter, know that we will do whatever it takes to protect Ari from harm.::

::We know, sir. Hopefully it won't come to that.::

* * *

_**Author's Note**_

_Dum de dum dum duuuuuuum! I know, another cliffy. But you all love me, right?...Right?...Just remember, kill me and you'll never find out what happens to Ari. But I will tell you this, there shouldn't be any abuse next chapter...I don't think...I don't really know. Haven't written it yet. XD But Simmions will be showing up next chapter! He's going to be...interesting to write.  
_

_I hope that I integrated movie stuff well enough for you and those parts weren't too boring. If any of you have any suggestions on how to better handle it please don't hesitate to give them._

_Not much else to say, so hope you enjoyed, PLEASE REVIEW, and see you all next time!_


	7. Seven, An Unlucky Number

_**Author's Note**_

_Wow, I think I broke my record with how fast I get a chapter done. Although, most of this was movie stuff. Hopefully it isn't too repetitive of the movie and stuff. And I hope you like my portrayal of Simmons. I actually found him easy to write. Although, apparently I like to write mean characters. Except Ari of course. Oh, and you'll be happy to know there is no abuse this chapter so no need for a warning.  
_

_Now for the reviews:_

**_TigerLilly1995: _**_Lol so many questions, so many questions. I can't give it all away. You're just going to have to keep reading to find out._

_**FourHorses: ** Yeah, Simmons is kind of a creep.  
_

**_Skyress98: _**_Lol, sorry but Bumblebee isn't going to be anywhere in the part that covers the first movie. But he does show up later. It'll just not be until Sideswipe was supposed to._

**_velociraptor4659: _**_Glad to make you laugh. ^_^ And I'll have to look into that idea._

**_Kazma-sama: _**_Then you are right where I want you._

**_SunnySides: _**_Honestly, I don't know what I'm going to do about Jazz. His accent is kind of difficult to write so I may just get rid of him like he's originally supposed to. Then again, what with my own plot with Ari that I'm going to be doing, Jazz staying dead won't really make sense but I supposed I could still do it. Guess we'll just have to wait and see._

**_Neon: _**_Happy belated birthday! Honestly, the reason why I have another chapter done is because I really was trying to get this posted for tomorrow but I didn't quite make it. *sigh* Oh, well, I tried. As for the holoform stuff, that probably won't get very far yet because of Ari not liking to be touched thing, but I did have a little bit of holoform fluff this chapter. Hopefully you like it._

**_Cloud-Dancer103: _**_Yeah, you aren't the only one who forgot about the glasses._

**_The Warrior of Hope: _**_Thank you!_

**_ForgeandGred4Ever: _**_Thanks!_

**_Stormin Hudson: _**_Guess you got a pleasant surprise. Sideswipe does some **real** roughing up this chapter. As for the threesome idea, no, I'm not going to do it. I personally don't think it would actually happen. Yes, Sunstreaker can feel Sideswipe's emotions, but Sides's emotions are not Sunny's. They do not actually share emotions, but can only feel what the other is feeling. If they had the same emotions, then they would be a lot more alike than they are. They still have completely different personalities, different likes and dislikes. So, I do not believe Sunstreaker would fall in love with Ari just because Sideswipe does. It would be like he's not his own person. That's just my thoughts on it._

**_KeepingThemAtBay: _**_Read and you shall see!_

**_Bee4ever: _**_I do have a line in here as reference to that, although it's not quite the same. :)_

**_Alexstarlight18: _**_Thanks!_

**_ChemicalEquinox: _**_I do something like that, yeah._

**_Dawn Racer: _**_Thank you!_

_Okay, that's it. Onward!_

* * *

_**Seven, An Unlucky Number**_

After convincing the rest of the Autobots to hang back further down the street, Sideswipe pulls into Ari's driveway. She was really nervous the entire drive, not knowing what to expect. Is he still there or did he break out of the duct tape?

When she gets a good look at the house she sees that all of the lights are off. She's pretty sure they didn't bother turning the lights off when Sideswipe took her from this place. And, most importantly, her father's car is no longer in the driveway.

"So he got out," Ari says quietly, not sure if it is a good thing or a bad thing that Ron appears to not be in the house at the moment. Good, because she won't have to deal with him again. Bad, because he is free who knows where looking for her. And he could return home any second.

"Do you want me to go in with you?" Sideswipe asks.

"No. I don't think he's home so I'll be alright. You stay out here and warn me if he comes back before I get out. Just honk three times."

"Alright. Be quick. Optimus is really anxious to get after the AllSpark before the Decepticons find it."

Ari nods as she steps out of Sideswipe's interior and heads into the house.

Everything is eerily silent.

She's come home plenty of times before to an empty house, but the deepening darkness has never seemed so sinister to her, so likely to contain something that wishes her harm. Her hand automatically goes to the light switch, illuminating the entry hall that leads passed the kitchen and dining room on the right, living room and her father's study on the left, and goes straight for the stairs. As she passes each room Ari peers in, half expecting her father to be there, waiting for her, but they are empty.

Creeping up the stairs, each creak of the wood echoes loudly in her ears and up towards the upstairs hallway, an alarm to anyone or thing that might be waiting for her. And Ari feels so sure that she is not alone. That any minute now the worst is going to happen and her father will be there with his hand around her neck. Once at the top of the stairs she turns on the light for the hallway. Her door is at the very end, passed her father's room, the hallway bathroom, and a spare bedroom. She listens intently for signs of life as she walks passed each door, but again, all is quiet. Still, she does not feel safe until she is in her room with the door locked behind her.

Leaning her back against the door Ari breathes a sigh of relief. Her heart is pounding in her chest. She had been so sure that, despite the house seemingly appearing empty from the outside, her father would still be inside, waiting for her. But nothing has happened yet. He has not jumped out of hiding. Either he is waiting for something or her fears are unfounded. She laughs at herself softly for being so scared of nothing and goes to her closet, grabs the glasses from the box of her grandfather's things, and then heads back downstairs with lighter feet than before, turning off lights as she goes.

As she is about to grab the door handle a car honks three times.

Ari freezes. Her heart stops. Her breath catches. Her eyes widen.

Keys jingle in a hand just beyond the door. The sound breaks Ari from whatever trance she is in. She backs away looking around for a place to hide. She heads into the living room since he is more likely to go into the kitchen to grab a beer. Hiding behind the couch, she waits.

Unsteady hands work at the door for a little longer before it swings open. She can hear her father stumbling in, cursing as he trips over the entry rug. Then he stops. Why, why is he stopping?

"Oh Arianna," he calls out in a singsong voice that makes her blood freeze. "I know you're here, Arianna. I know I didn't leave this hall light on."

Ari's eyes close slowly in defeat. The light. She hadn't turned it off yet, she was going to once she had the door open but then she heard the honking.

Footsteps move down the hallway. All she needs is for him to check the kitchen first. Or, better yet, go upstairs to her bedroom. Ari strains her ears trying to figure out where he is going.

Silence. No movement at all. Where is he, where is he, where is he?

A hand flashes out from the other side of the couch, grabbing Ari by the shirt collar. "Gotcha," Ron says victoriously.

Ari opens her mouth to scream for Sideswipe but Ron's other hand moves to cover her mouth.

"I don't think so, Arianna. I don't know what happened last time, but you screaming doesn't seem to end up good for me." His arm swiftly moves from her shirt to lock around her torso, pinning her arms to her sides and her back against his chest. "Now tell me," he whispers in her ear, "whose car is that outside? It's not yours, is it? That dead-end job you have at that diner doesn't pay nearly enough for a car like that. Did you steal it? Do I now have a thief living under my roof? That's going to require some intensive," he licks the side of her face, "punishment."

"Let the girl go," a deep, very distinctive voice says from behind them.

Ron shoves Ari forward, sending her into the wall, and turns around. Ari looks up to see a group of people standing in the middle of the living room.

There is a big man appearing to be in his forties with a buzz cut that makes him look like he is in the military wearing black jeans, black boots, and a black fitted shirt.

There is an older man, maybe mid-fifties, in beige slacks, white button-up shirt, yellow vest, with white hair and glasses.

There is a black man, late twenties, with dreadlocks, goatee, and wearing slightly baggy jeans and a hoodie.

At the front is a man in is late thirties with a dark brown, close cropped hair and beard wearing a blue leather jacket with red flames over a plain white shirt and jeans.

And next to him is a pair of twins in their early twenties. One of them being Sideswipe with his messy mop of black hair that Ari recognizes even though she's only seen him once, and next to him is his mirror image though with shorter, sleeked back hair.

It's the Autobots, all of them in their holoforms. And looking like they're about to vaporize someone.

"What are you all doing in my house?" Ron asks, anger building in his voice with every word. "Get out before I call the cops!"

"Not without Ari," Sideswipe says with a growl.

"Oh, no. You aren't taking my daughter anywhere!" Ron picks up an empty beer bottle, wielding it as a weapon. "All of you get out now!"

"We are not leaving this place without Ari," the man with the leather jacket says, his voice undoubtedly belonging to Optimus. "You will allow her to come with us or we will use force. We outnumber you, Mr. Witwicky. I suggest you stand down."

"I don't think so." Ron glares at Optimus, his gaze never faltering. Completely distracted. Ari uses the opportunity to run around the couch towards the Autobots. However, with her father's long reach he manages to grab her by the wrist. "And where do you think you're going?"

Faster than anyone else can react, Sideswipe lunges, his fist connecting with Ron's jaw. Ron falls back with a yelp of surprise and pain, letting go of Ari's wrist as he collides with the floor with a hard thump. He doesn't get back up.

The oldest of the Autobots' holoforms, Ratchet she guesses, kneels down next to Ron and examines him. "He's fine. Just unconscious, though when he wakes up in a few hours he will have quite the headache."

Ari cradles her arm to her and inches behind Sideswipe. She tugs on the back of his shirt. "Thanks."

Sideswipe give her father one last glare and then turns to her, his eyes instantly softening. "Are you okay?" He tentatively reaches out a hand, gesturing towards the wrist Ron grabbed. "Do you want me to take a look at that?"

She's hesitant for a couple of seconds and then nods. She holds out her arm to him, slightly shaky. When he touches her, rolling up her shirt sleeve to reveal her wrist and then fingers gently ghosting across her skin, she can't help but cringe. But she holds still as best she can. Ari doesn't want to be afraid of him. Not Sideswipe. Not after all he's done for her.

"You're going to have a pretty nasty bruise but you'll be fine." Sideswipe strokes her skin one last time and then lets go. "Sorry."

Ari's brow furrows. "For what?"

"This shouldn't have happened," he says sadly.

"Sides, what more could you have done?"

"No, he's right," Sunstreaker says, coming over to stand next to his brother. "We never should have let him enter the house."

"Do not blame yourselves," Ratchet says. "It is my fault. When I saw that you two were distressed over the fact that her parental unit had arrived home I insisted on an explanation."

"But when we realized what was goin' on we came as fas' as we could," the man with the dreadlocks, Jazz, says. "There's nothin' we can do abou' it now."

"Jazz is right," Optimus says. "What is important is that Ari is now safe."

The military man, Ironhide, steps next to her father and looks down at him with disgust. "I say we get rid of this rodent. May I eliminate him, sir?"

"If anyone's going to get that privilege, it'll be me," Sideswipe says with cold glee.

"That request is denied, you two. We do not harm the humans, even one as…disgraceful as Mr. Witwicky here. We shall let the humans' judicial system deal with him. We cannot interfere with their affairs."

"Speaking of which," Ari steps toward Optimus, looking him directly in his crystal blue eyes. "I have a favor to ask."

"Name it," he says without the slightest hesitation which surprises her. He doesn't even know what she is going to ask, yet he already seems willing to do it.

"If I hand over the glasses, will you do something for me? Will you…will you help make sure I get away from him?"

Optimus smiles. "That is hardly a favor. We would be happy to help you, our new friend."

Ari smiles, a genuinely happy smile. So, she's officially friends with a bunch of aliens. Cool.

* * *

Optimus's holoform takes the glasses out to his alt mode while the rest of them take care of Ron. Sideswipe is showing Sunstreaker the wonders of duct tape by wrapping up Ron again, this time with a lot more, Jazz is watching in amusement, Ironhide is there more as a bodyguard to make sure the man doesn't wake up, and Ratchet is there to make sure none of them do something they shouldn't even though he is giving her father nasty glances as well.

Ari sits on the couch watching them all with a soft smile, thinking about how her life has changed so completely in a matter of days. She went from having no friends and an abusive father who beat her every day to having many friends, four of whom she only just met a few hours ago, who are willing to stand up for her. They're willingness to help her, to stay with her, astounds Ari to no end. They have every right to just abandon her now that they have what they came for, but they won't. They're taking her with them on their quest to find the AllSpark. They have no time to stop and help her now, but they will help her legally get away from her father when all of this is over. And Ari understands. They can't stop for anything, never knowing how far behind the Decepticons are. But, because of that, they warned her that her going with them may be dangerous. She told them she doesn't care. She knows they'll protect her, especially Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, and she would almost rather face a bunch of Decepticons than her father for just one more day. Sideswipe offered to stay behind with her to ensure her safety but she couldn't do that to him. This AllSpark is important to them. Ari could tell that Sideswipe wants to go after it as well so she said she will go with them. The offer was sweet though. He would do so much for her.

As Sideswipe and Sunstreaker finish wrapping Ron in duct tape from shoulders to ankles Jazz looks abruptly towards the window. "Optimus says a couple o' black cars jus' pulled up. Some guys in black suites are beginnin' to comb the place."

Someone knocks on the door. Ari's mind races. Guys in black suites and black cars. That usually screams government. They can't know about the Autobots, can they?

"You guys need to leave," she tells them urgently. They give her questioning looks. "Look, whoever these people are, they're probably not here for me. They're here for you. So you guys need to get out of here before they see you."

Sideswipe shakes his head. "No, we're not leaving without you. We made a promise."

She gives him a sad smile. "I know, and I do wish I could go with you, but I've seen E.T. enough times to know it never works out well for the aliens."

"Then what are they going to do to you?" Ironhide asks.

"I'll be fine. They won't hurt me since I'm human. They'll probably just ask me a bunch of questions and then leave." _Hopefully._ There's more knocking on the door, more insistent this time. "No more arguing. Go. Now." She gives them all a stern look until, one by one, their holoforms blink out.

Sideswipe is the last to go. "Stay safe," he whispers. And then he, too, is gone. Her heart aches a little. She really did want to go with them, with _him_.

"Open up. I know you're in there!" an obnoxious voice says from the other side of the door. But she doesn't move until she hears the sound of several cars taking off down the road. A few men yell out and then there is more knocking, more like banging, sounding like it's going to break down the door.

Ari sighs and goes to open the front door. Standing there are several men in black suites, just like Jazz said. "Can I help you?"

"Hello, there," the head guy says, a Hispanic-looking guy with a large nose and the owner of the obnoxious voice. "You Arianna Wickety?"

Ari huffs in annoyance. "It's Witwicky. And I'd prefer Ari. Now who are you?"

He flashes a badge. "We're the government. Sector Seven."

"Never heard of it." The badge says that his name is Agent Simmons. She peers at it closer to try and see if it's a fake, but she doesn't really know the signs to look for. Besides, if they are here about aliens she wasn't exactly expecting the FBI.

"Never will," Agent Simmons says as he puts the badge away. "You're the great-granddaughter of Captain Archibald Wickety, correct?"

She sighs. There's not point. "Yes, why do you ask?"

"May I enter the premises, please?" As he says the words he steps forward into her space causing her to instantly get uncomfortable and step back. Even though he said please it's still more like an order. Agent Simmons walks fully into the house and a ton of other guys stream in after him. A couple of them are carrying some kind of scanner looking things.

"What is going on here exactly?" Ari asks.

"We believe there is dealings going on here that are a matter of National Security?"

She raises her eyebrow. That's the best they can come up with? "What do you mean by that?"

"Sir," one of the other agents say from the living room. "You better come and take a look at this."

_Slag. I should have told Sideswipe to hide Ron before they left._

Ari follows Agent Simmons resignedly into the living room where, on the ground wrapped in duct tape, lies her still-unconscious father.

Agent Simmons turns to her with a quizzical look. "Care to explain what's going on here?"

Ari crosses her arms. She doesn't trust this guy at all. "Care to explain how it is any of your business?"

He narrows his eyes at her. "You're going to need to come with us."

"What? No!" Ari backs away towards the door.

"Don't even try to run, little lady. You can't run from this. I'm onto this whole operation you got going on here."

"What operation?" What does he even mean by "operation?"

"That's what we are gonna find out."

Another agent comes up holding one of the funky scanners. He holds it out to Simmons and says, "I think direct contact."

Simmons takes the device, points it at Ari, and it emits an odd noise. "Fourteen rads," he says victoriously. "Bingo. Tag her and bag her!"

Instantly an agent is behind Ari cuffing her wrists behind her back. She struggles, starting to panic. "Let go of me!"

It's no use. They lead her outside to one of the black SUVs. Ari looks down the street to where the Autobots had parked, but they are not there. Not even Sideswipe is still in the driveway, tire tracks in the grass showing how he must have gone through the lawn to get around the agents. She smirks. He probably had fun scaring them.

The agent holding her roughly shoves her into the back seat of one of the SUVs, tossing the scanner in next to her, and then gets into the driver's seat. Agent Simmons gets into the passenger's and then they are speeding off down the road.

She doesn't see what happens to Ron.

Simmons turns around in his seat to look at Ari. "So what do you know about aliens, kid?"

_Slagslagslag. This is not good. Definitely not good. He knows. They all know. They're going to try to get to Sideswipe and the others through me and then they're probably going to experiment on them or just kill them because humans so have a track record of not liking things that are different even though the Autobots aren't dangerous at all and are here to help us._

Ari looks down at her lap not saying a word.

Simmons reaches back for her, grabbing her by the collar of her shirt and pulling her forward, like how her father did not long before. Ari struggles to keep her breathing even.

He gets out is badge again and shoves it in her face. "You see this? This is my I-can-do-whatever-I-want-and-get-away-with-it badge. So don't test me. I don't know what that crap was back there with your old man, but I can and will find a way to put you away for it for a very, very long time, so I suggest you start talking, missy."

Ari winces at the threat, the prospect of going to jail not being appealing, but still stays silent. No matter what he does to her she won't give him what he wants. Whatever he does to her it still won't be as bad as the things she's endured before. He is not her father.

Simmons shakes her. "It's time to talk!"

The scanner next to Ari starts to freak out. Her eyes widen, understanding its meaning. Her eyes dart over to look out the windshield where a large red and blue foot is coming towards them. There is a loud crash as the two metal objects collide. Their car is pushed back. The Agents scream. Cars squeal behind them as they brake to stop.

Two metal hands then grab the top of the car, the fingers puncturing the glass to get underneath, and lift the car into the air. They stay there, suspended in air, agents still screaming, until the metal cannot hold the weight any longer and snaps. The car falls back to earth with a large thud now missing the roof of the car.

Optimus stands over them in all his awesome glory, tossing what used to be part of the car aside like scrap.

Ari smiles up at him. "Well, Simmons, you wanted to know what I know about aliens. Let me introduce you to my friend, Optimus Prime."

Simmons and the other agent slowly start to stand, staring up at Optimus in awe, as the rest of their men gather around the broken car, guns raised.

"Taking the girl was a bad move," Optimus growls. "Autobots, relieve them of their weapons."

The ground shakes and everyone turns to see the rest of the Autobots jumping down from the train overpass, aiming their own weapons at the agents.

"Give me those," Jazz says as he holds out his hand and all of the guns float into Jazz's hand as if they were pulled by a magnet. The agents start to freak out and hold up their hands in the universal symbol for don't shoot.

Silver metal fingers wrap around Ari and she lets out a small squeak of surprise as she's lifted into the air. Sideswipe sits her down on the palm of his other hand with her feet hanging off the side and then carefully breaks her handcuffs from her wrists.

Ari rubs her now two sore wrists. "Thanks."

Sideswipe lifts her up until she is level with his face. "Are you okay?"

"I am now," she says with a smile. "But what are you guys doing here? You should be chasing after the AllSpark. Not wasting time rescuing me."

He gives her a cocky grin. "What if I like rescuing you?" Ari laughs and his smile widens. But then it fades, his face turning serious. "I couldn't just leave you, Ari. And since I wanted to go back for you, Sunstreaker did, too, and then Ratchet didn't want us to go alone and Ironhide wanted a piece of the action and, well, you get the idea. We all wanted to come after you."

Ari stares into Sideswipe's blue optics and sees the truth in them. They all really do care about her. It's an odd feeling, actually being cared for. She hasn't felt it in a long time.

She stretches out her arms and hugs Sideswipe's faceplates. "Thank you. For everything." When she places a kiss on his cheek she swears she feels the metal heating up.

"Y-you're welcome," he stammers and places Ari back on the ground.

She giggles and then walks over to the Sector Seven agents who are now lined up on the sidewalk handcuffed together thanks to Sunstreaker's supervision and Simmons is…well, she isn't sure what Simmons is doing.

"Sunstreaker, is Simmons…_undressing_?" she asks as the agent finally gives up on undoing his shirt buttons and just yanks the fabric apart, sending the remaining buttons flying.

Sunstreaker looks down at her innocently. "What? He needed a more severe punishment. We all saw how rough he and his men were being with you."

"Very nice," Sideswipe says and high-fives his brother. "But I think he needs just a little bit more."

"What do you have in mind?"

Ari looks at Agent Simmons, who is now in nothing but a white tank and Hawaiian boxers, with pity. "You should not have brought on their wrath." Something hits Simmons on the head, bouncing off with a hollow thunk, and then a stream of liquid pours out of Sideswipe's…well. Ari blushes.

"Sideswipe," Optimus chastises, "stop lubricating the man."

Sideswipe grins but does stop. He opens his mouth to say something when sirens fill the air.

"Optimus! Incoming!" Ironhide shouts and they all turn to see a fleet of black cars coming their way, including helicopters. Ironhide smashes his cannon into the ground. A light flashes out and when it collides with the cars they fritz out and all screech to a halt.

"Roll out," Optimus orders and all of the Autobots transform into their alt modes except for Optimus. He holds out his hand to Ari and says, "Up you get." Ari watches Sideswipe take off down the road for a second and then hops on, knowing Sides wouldn't leave her unless he knew she would be okay. Optimus lifts her up to his shoulder. When she's climbed up and hanging on to anything she can he starts running, drawing the Sector Seven agents to him so the others can get away.

It's a bumpy ride as Optimus runs through the city, dodging cars underfoot, trying to lose the helicopters. Things start to look up when Optimus gets creative and decides to climb up on the underside of a bridge, precariously supporting his weight between two supports with his hands and feet. A spotlight passes them by but it does not appear that they have been spotted.

Then Ari's grip slips and she starts to fall. At the last minute she manages to grab a hold of a part of Optimus's shoulder, but her grip is just not strong enough. Her fingers slip the rest of the way and she screams. Down, down, down she goes, the height feeling so much higher while falling. Optimus tries to stop her decent by using his foot to catcher her, but she just ends up bouncing off, unable to grab onto anything. She is feet from the ground when Sideswipe drives up out of nowhere, transforms, and catches her, cradling her protectively to his chest as they skid across the ground. He quickly puts her down and then gets ready to defend her.

Out of nowhere a helicopter comes out and someone in it shoots at Sideswipe, connecting cables to his armor. More helicopters come and do the same until his arms are restrained.

_Don't. _

The cars containing the rest of the agents finally catch up and they do the same.

"No, stop!" Ari screams but all she can do is watch in horror as Sideswipe is forced to the ground. Men come up with tanks strapped to their backs and shoot what looks like liquid nitrogen at him. Sides lets out a pitiful, high-pitched whirling noise, sounding almost like a scream.

_Don't take him from me._

Ari tries to rush to his side but a couple of the agents grab onto her arms, holding her back. "What are you doing? He's not fighting back! Look at him, he's not fighting back!"

She almost wishes he would fight back, but she knows his vow to not hurt humans. He can't fight back without hurting them, not this many.

But seeing him hurting like this is breaking her heart.

With an angry yell Ari breaks away from the ones holding her and grabs onto the closest man with the liquid nitrogen there is to her, trying to force his arm away, still screaming for them to stop. Someone comes up from behind her and grabs her around the middle, pinning her arms to her sides. She keeps struggling, even when she is lifted off of the ground she tries to kick her attacker.

_Please, don't take him from me._

Something sharp pokes into the side of her neck and she feels a burning coldness start to coarse through her veins.

The last things she's aware of before her mind floats into blackness are Simmons orders to freeze that "thing" for transport, the look of pain in Sideswipe's blue optics, and his screams ringing in her ears.

_Please…._

* * *

_**Author's Note**_

_You should have seen that cliffy coming, right? So, as all of you were wondering, I had Sideswipe replace Bumblebee to be taken. I though it only right, since he's the one to end up with her, and I already have a really cute fluffy part thought up for when they meet back up again at Hoover Dam. And if my timeline is correct as I see it in my head that should be next chapter _

_And I'm really excited about next chapter for more than just that. Lennox is finally here. Besides the Autobots he's my favorite character so he and Ari are going to get to know each other a lot more than Lennox and Sam ever did. And I mean a **lot** more. _

_You know, now that I think about it, there's not too many chapters left til I'm done with the first movie. And I think I've decided, I'm going to go ahead and make all of this one story. I'm going to be doing things that go in between the movies instead of just doing huge time jumps each time so it'll be easier if I just keep it all together. But what will happen is that, when I get to a good stopping point after the first movie, I won't be posting for a while as I try to get together exactly where to go from there. Don't worry, it shouldn't take too long. One week, two tops. It's just, from here on out she's going to be doing things and going places in her life that Sam never did so I have to come up with it all._

_Okay, enough of me blabbing. Hope you enjoyed, PLEASE REVIEW, and see you all next time!_


	8. A Spark of Foreboding

_**Author's Note**_

_I got another one done! But don't get too used to this fast updating. The only reason it's not taking me as long is because homework has been lighter than usual and the story is closer to what happened in the movie right now. Not as much having to make stuff up. But there is some new stuff, a lot actually.  
_

_But anyway, two of my favorite things happen this chapter! One: Lennox is here! Yay! Most of the new stuff has to do with him. And the second: more cute fluffiness! Honestly, if I could write this story entirely out of fluff I would, but it wouldn't be as exciting that way._

_Okay, now onto reviews!_

**_FourHorses: _**_Thanks!_

**_SunnySides: _**_Thanks, I think this will help a lot. I think I am going to try to keep Jazz. As for Bee, he's coming. I promise. He just won't show up til sometime in between the first and second movie when Sideswipe originally was supposed to._

**_Bee4ever: _**_Thanks!_

**_TigerLilly1995: _**_Fragit, I gotta stop saying too much. And yeah, I'm really looking forward to doing some of my own stuff in between. I really like what I've come up with so far and hopefully you all will too._

**_velociraptor4659: _**_Lol no, nothing like that if you're thinking what I think you're thinking. But I'm not gonna tell you any more cause I already said too much and someone already guessed it. And I tried your suggestion and I was like holy Primus this is awesome._

**_ForgeandGred4Ever: _**_And here you are. Hope you enjoy. :)_

**_KeepingThemAtBay: _**_Yes, Maggie and Glen are in this chapter although after the beginning they kind of get sidelined. Sorry, but I needed to do stuff with Ari and Lennox._

**_Neon: _**_I know, right? But pretty soon you won't have that luxury._

**_The Warrior of Hope: _**_Just know that if you kill me you don't get anymore chapters and you won't be able to find out what happens next. ;)_

**_Stormin' Hudson: _**_Yes, it was his cannon. I checked. Although you made me paranoid with that comment so I had to recheck and yes it is still his cannon that I see. Unless I need glasses. XD _

**_Transformers SilentWolf: _**_Yes, I know what split spark twins means. They both come from the same spark that naturally split when being inserted into a protoform. But I don't think that means they have to fall in love with the same person. __Yes, Sunstreaker can feel Sideswipe's emotions, but Sides's emotions are not Sunny's. They do not actually share emotions, but can only feel what the other is feeling. If they had the same emotions, then they would be a lot more alike than they are. They still have completely different personalities, different likes and dislikes. So, I do not believe Sunstreaker would fall in love with Ari just because Sideswipe does. It would be like he's not his own person. That's just my thoughts on it._

_Okay, enough of that. Onward!_

* * *

_**A Spark of Foreboding**_

Ari wakes up to a gentle rocking motion and the feeling that something odd is on her head. Her eyes blink open adjusting to the early morning light. How long had she been out? Last she remembered it was night. There had been government agents and helicopters and guys with big guns that shoot rope that tied Sideswipe down. He had been captured. She had been captured.

_Sideswipe…._

There is an awful kink in her neck as she lifts up her head. She's sitting down, strapped to a chair with a harness. Looking to the left she finds that the rocking motion is the feeling of flight. Ari is sitting in a helicopter going…probably nowhere good.

"You alright?" a feminine voice with a distinct Aussie accent asks, sounding staticy in her ears. Ari lifts her hands to her head. She's wearing a huge pair of headphones with a mic attached so she can talk to the other people with her. Looking around she sees that there are five of them. Two agents, one on either side of her, and across from her is a heavyset black man, an older gentleman in a suite that looks government and slightly familiar but doesn't give off the whole evil-government-organization vibe, and a pretty blonde woman who must have been the one to talk.

"Yes," Ari says, her voice sounding hoarse. She coughs to clear it and then asks, "Who are you? You don't look like Sector Seven."

"The name's Maggie," she says with a smile, holding out her hand. Ari hesitantly takes it holding on with the lightest of touches and letting go as soon as what would still be deemed polite. Maggie then elbows the black man next to her.

"I'm Glen," he says with just a simple wave, rubbing the spot where he was elbowed and glancing at Maggie indignantly out of the corner of his eye.

"And I'm Defense Secretary Keller," the older man says, also sticking his hand out for a shake. Ari shakes his hand longer this time only because she's in slight shock.

"Defense Secretary Keller?" Ari asks, eyes wide. "As in, the Secretary of Defense for the United States?"

His eyes light up with amusement. "The one and only. Didn't recognize me?"

Ari blushes slightly and looks down at her lap. "Sorry, sir, no I didn't. My, uh, my dad doesn't let me watch T.V. or anything so keeping up with elected officials and current events is kind of harder than it is for most people."

"You don't watch T.V.?" Glen asks in horror. "Man, I'd be lying in an early grave if I couldn't watch T.V. Please tell me you at least have the internet."

"Yeah, I do. But I'm only allowed on long enough to do homework." The three of them give her odd looks and Ari shifts in her seat uncomfortably, not liking where the topic is going. She decides to change it. "So do any of you know where we're going?"

"No," Maggie says with a tinge of annoyance in her voice. "And these two," she gestures to the two agents sitting beside Ari, "won't talk. Just said that we're going to Sector Seven headquarters wherever that is."

Ari sighs and looks out to her left again. She can see another helicopter with them but no aircraft large enough to transport Sideswipe. What did they do with him? Is he even going to the same place she is?

"So what'd they get you for?" Maggie suddenly asks, trying to keep the conversation going.

Ari shifts her eyes back to her. "Bought a car. Turned out to be an alien robot." She shrugs. "Who knew?"

Glen mouths the word "wow" breathlessly, but, other than that, no one else really knows how to respond.

After a while they try to ask her more questions but Ari just tunes them out, staring at the passing landscape so far below, pretending not to hear and hoping Sideswipe is alright.

* * *

Once they land they are then transferred to a couple of vehicles to drive the rest of the way to, apparently, the Hoover Dam. Ari, Maggie, and Glen lean over the side of the dam to look at the long drop like so many tourists around them do. They then all follow the agents to where a couple of soldiers stand at attention, who had been in the other helicopter. Secretary Keller goes over to talk to them while Ari is stopped by Simmons.

"Hey kid," Simmons says, placing a hand on her shoulder so as to appear friendly. He doesn't. Ari shrugs him off and takes a step back. Simmons sighs in annoyance. "Look, I think we got off to a bad start, huh? You must be hungry. You want a latte? Ho-Ho? Double venti macchiato?"

"Where's Sideswipe?" she asks with crossed arms.

Another agent comes up to them, having been listening from behind Simmons, and says without introduction, "I need you to listen to me very carefully. People can die here-"

"Exactly," she says, cutting him off. "A lot of people _are_ going to die while you're busy sitting here wasting time with me and Sideswipe. What you should be doing is helping us. Take me to Sideswipe and let us go."

"We can only help you if you tell us what you know. We need to know everything you know. We need to know it now."

"Only if you give me Sideswipe."

The agent lets out an impatient huff and starts to back away. "Come with me. We'll talk about your car."

"He's not just a car," Ari says as she follows. "His name is Sideswipe and he's a person just like you and me."

Neither of the agents respond to her as they go to join the others and introductions are made. She doesn't catch all of the soldiers' names but only because she is half paying attention, worrying about Sideswipe. What they could be doing to him. Images from what she remembers of E.T. keep flashing through her mind, of the wrinkly alien looking deathly pale and sick.

They head down an elevator to the base of the dam. As they head towards a tunnel going inside Simmons says, "All right, here's the situation. You've all had direct contact with the NBEs."

"NBEs?" one of the soldiers asks, the black man by the name of Epps if Ari remembers correctly.

"Non-Biological Extraterrestrials. Try and keep up with the acronyms."

As they walk Ari stares at the back of Simmons's head. Non-Biological Extraterrestrials. That name was prepared. Before last night. This isn't the first time they've seen Cybertronians.

And Ari only knows of one who's been on Earth longer than the Autobots, Sideswipe, Barricade, and any of the Decepticons who are hunting the AllSpark now.

If _he's_ here things are going to get very bad.

They go through a long dark tunnel and when they come out on the other side the agent from before, who she now knows as Banachek, says, "What you're about to see is totally classified."

And totally part of Ari's worst nightmare, in more ways than one. Standing on a platform in the middle of the room is a frozen Cybertronian as tall as Optimus. She recognizes him, from the hologram Optimus showed her back in the alley. It's Megatron. Leader of the Decepticons.

She gulps and follows the others to get closer, although she really doesn't want to. She feels that just by looking at him wrong Megatron will suddenly wake up.

"We think when he made his approach over the North Pole," Banachek continues, "our gravitational field screwed up his telemetry. He crashed in the ice, probably a few thousand years ago. We shipped him here to this facility in 1934."

"We call him NBE-1," Simmons says proudly.

"Uh, sir," Ari speaks up from the back of the group and everyone turns to look at her. "I don't mean to correct you on everything you think you know, but that's Megatron. He's the leader of the Decepticons. And you're sure he's not going to wake up, right?"

"He's been in cryostasis since 1935," Banachek says. "Your great-great-grandfather made one of the greatest discoveries in the history of mankind."

_And then got remembered as a lunatic. Lovely. Though I wouldn't call finding Megatron a very good discovery. Should have left him in that ice._

"Fact is, you're looking at the source of the modern age," Simmons adds. "The microchip, lasers, spaceflight, cars, all reverse-engineered by studying him. NBE-1," he looks at her pointedly. "That's what we call it."

Keller speaks up in annoyance, "And you didn't think the United States military might need to know that you're keeping a hostile alien robot frozen in the basement?"

"Until these events, we had no credible threat to National Security," Banachek answers coolly.

"Well you got one now."

"So why Earth?" a soldier with messy brown hair asks before an argument can break out. She remembers that his name is Lennox.

"It's the AllSpark," Ari says.

"AllSpark?" Keller asks. "What is that?"

That could be a very long explanation. She tries to scramble together a short version of what the Autobots have told her so far. "Well, it's a cube-shaped artifact of theirs. Basically their source of life and is necessary for the continuance of their species. NBE-1 here, a.k.a. Megatron," Ari pointedly looks at Simmons, "that's his _real name_, is basically the harbinger of death and wants to use the Cube to transform human technology to take over the universe. That's their plan."

Simmons gets in Ari's face uncomfortably and she takes a few steps back. "And you're sure about that?" he asks, shifting from foot to foot.

"Yeah," she replies quietly and then her eyes narrow, observing his sudden jittery demeanor. "You know where it is, don't you?"

There is a pause and then Banachek says, "Follow me."

They all follow the agents down another tunnel, much larger than the first, as Ari's mind begins to race. The AllSpark is here. This is fantastic. All she has to do is grab it, find Sideswipe, bust out of here, and meet up with the Autobots.

But how does she do all of that by herself?

"Hey," someone says and Ari looks up to see that Lennox has fallen into step beside her at the back of the group. "Your name's Ari, right?" She just nods. "So you know a lot about these guys?"

She looks down at her feet timidly. "Yeah, I met the first Autobot that came to Earth a few days ago."

"Autobot?"

"As a race, they're called Cybertronians, but they are divided into two groups a lot like America was during the Civil War. There are the Autobots, the North, who want to spread peace and prosperity. Then there are the Decepticons, the South, who want destruction and the enslavement of any species they see as inferior to them, which is basically everybody."

"Where are the Autobots now? Something tells me we could use all the help we can get."

"Out there somewhere heading towards the Cube's location." Something obvious finally clicks in Ari's head and she looks up at Lennox with a smile. "Which I guess would mean they're on their way here. Good thing, too. I don't think I can save Sideswipe from these wackos by myself."

Lennox's brow furrows. "Who's Sideswipe and what did Sector Seven do to him?"

Ari looks away sadly. "The first Autobot I met that I told you about. He's my friend. When Sector Seven came for me because of my involvement in all of this Sideswipe tried to protect me. Instead, he ended up getting captured, too. Cybertronians really aren't all that different from humans, but I don't think these guys even see them as living beings. They're probably doing all kinds of experiments on him now."

"Don't worry, Ari. I'm sure he'll be fine." Lennox tries to put a comforting hand on Ari's shoulder but she sidesteps him. Lennox stops walking and she stops walking too, though several paces away from him. "You okay, kid?"

"Yeah, I just…don't like being touched." She bites her lip, refusing to meet his eyes.

Lennox eyes her suspiciously but then shrugs it off and continues to walk.

They catch up to the others just as they enter a white brick room with pictures on one wall and a glass window on the opposite overlooking a large, cavernous room. Through the window, sitting several stories high, taller than any Cybertronian Ari has ever seen, she can see the AllSpark.

Yeah, definitely going to need help moving that. They have to have a way of transporting it somehow.

Banachek starts talking again but Ari doesn't pay attention. She just keeps staring at the Cube, her mind empties and a kind of ringing starts in her ears. There's a slight pull in her chest like she's drawn to the AllSpark. It reminds her of the tugging she felt back at the car lot when she first technically saw Sideswipe even though she didn't know it was him at the time.

Someone's hand lands on her shoulder and she lets out a squeak of fright and quickly takes several steps away. She turns around, wide eyed, to see Lennox standing there with his hand still in the air, staring at her in surprise.

"Uh," he says, "we're heading someplace else."

She nods and quietly follows the rest of the group. They head into a metal room that looks like some mad scientist's lab where the agents show them what they've figured out they can do with the Cube's energy by taking Glen's phone and turning it into a Cybertronian. The little guy starts attacking the metal and glass box, trying to escape, until Simmons kills it with pleasure. Ari's fears for Sideswipe strengthen tenfold.

Suddenly, distant banging can be heard seemingly coming from outside, and they are very far underground, followed by the lights flickering.

"It's the Decepticons," Ari says barely above a whisper, dread turning her stomach sour. "They know the Cube is here."

Banachek goes over to a radio and presses a button to speak, "Banachek. What's going on?"

"Well," someone says on the other end, "the NBE-1 hanger has lost power-"

"What?" Banachek asks angrily.

"-and the backup generator is just not gonna cut it."

"Do you have an arms room?" Lennox asks.

* * *

They all hurry out of the room and run down the hallways to the arms room. All the way Ari can't help but chant in her head _Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, Primus, no. The Autobots need to hurry up and get here. No, I need to get Sideswipe so we can get the Cube out of here and get to the Autobots before the Decepticons catch up to us._

When they get to the arms room all of the soldiers and the S-7 agents that are prepared for combat scurry around getting weapons together while Ari watches from the sidelines. She needs to get to Sideswipe. She needs to get to him _now_.

There is another bang and the lights flicker again.

Ari decides enough is enough. She goes up to Simmons, who is loading a grenade launcher, and demands, "You've got to take me to Sideswipe." He ignores her. "You have to take me to Sideswipe. He's going to know what to do with the Cube."

He finally glances at her, "Your car? It's confiscated."

She clenches her fists angrily. "He's not a _car_, he's a living, breathing person. You can't just confiscate him. This is unjust imprisonment."

"I don't care what you think. We do not know what will happen if we let it near this thing!"

"You don't know, but I do."

"Yeah, but I don't."

"You just want to sit here? Wait and see what happens?"

"I have people's lives at stake here, young lady."

"Yeah, and if you don't give the AllSpark to the Autobots we're all _dead_! You hear me? _Dead!_" Everyone stops what they're doing and stares at her. "We can't do this. Not by ourselves. How many Decepticons have you all fought at one time? One? Well, there's going to be a lot more of them now. And they're waking up Megatron, who is scarier and tougher than all of them _combined_. We need help. We _need_ the Autobots. Now fragging _take_ me to Sideswipes _now_!"

Simmons still shakes his head, "I don't-"

Lennox suddenly comes up to them and roughly grabs Simmons by the front of his vest. "Take her to Sideswipe," he demands, the words coming out in a growl. Lennox drags Simmons over to a nearby car and shoves him against it.

Everyone starts taking out their guns, the S-7 agents pointing them at Lennox, the soldiers pointing theirs at the S-7 agents, and Lennox pointing his at the nearest agent.

Ari stands frozen, the situation having spiraled out of control faster than she thought possible.

"Drop your weapon, soldier," Simmons orders. "There's an alien war going on and you're gonna shoot me?"

"You know, we didn't ask to be here."

"I'm ordering you under S-7 executive jurisdiction-"

"S-7 don't exist," Epps says.

"Right," Lennox agrees, "and we don't take orders from people that don't exist."

Simmons rolls his eyes. "I'm gonna count to five-"

"Well, I'm gonna count to three," Lennox moves his pistol to point it at Simmons's chest.

"Simmons?" Keller pipes up.

"Yes, sir?"

"I'd do what he says. Losing's really not an option for these guys."

Simmons looks back and forth between Keller and Lennox and then nods reluctantly. "Alright. Okay. Hey, you want to lay the fate of the world on the kid's Corvette? That's cool."

Lennox finally lets Simmons go, turning to give Ari a smug half-smile.

She gives him one of her rare, full-out grins. She's finally going to get Sideswipe back.

* * *

When they enter another large room Ari is not prepared for what she sees. Before she even gets through the door she hears painful whirling noises she knows are coming from Sideswipe. He's lying on his back on a big table with people all around him shooting cold streams of liquid nitrogen at him. It's obvious they're hurting him and they just don't care.

She runs up to the nearest guy and forces his arms down. "Stop it! Stop! Stop hurting him!" With Banachek's orders they do all finally stop.

With the pain from the cold gone Sideswipe begins to move, turning his head to get a look at the people in the room, the people who had been hurting him. He raises himself up on one elbow. One of his cannons pops out from the top of his other arm, swerving between people, ready to fight off anyone still wishing to do him harm.

All of the humans, the scientists, the agents, Lennox and the soldiers, they all stand around, waiting to see what happens, waiting for the worst.

She walks up to him without fear. "Sideswipe," she says with a clear voice that pierces through the fight-or-flight mode he seems to be in. His optics instantly find her and when they do he freezes, his optics brightening. Ari smiles. "It's okay. No one is going to hurt you anymore." And then she holds her arms out to him. Without hesitation Sides puts his cannon away, sits up, and lifts her into his arms.

Ari breathes a sigh of relief, finally feeling the worry and fear melt away from her tense muscles as she's placed sitting on his forearm, his other arm coming up to hold her to him with his hand cupping her head gently. She presses her face against the warm metal of his chassis above his spark allowing the soothing heat to seep into her skin.

She finally has him back. They're both finally safe.

"Are you okay?" Sideswipes asks softly after a few moments.

"Am _I_ okay?" She looks up at him incredulously. "I believe the more important questing is are _you_ okay? They looked like they were hurting you so much."

He glares at the scientists still standing around him and then gives her a soft smile. "Nothing I can't handle. This is nothing compared to what the Decepticons can dish out. Now answer my question. What about you?"

"Oh, come on, Sideswipe, you should know me by now." She presses her face against him again. "You know I've been through worse."

"Ari?" She looks down to see Lennox walking up to them hesitantly with a questioning look on his face.

Well, slag, she probably shouldn't have said that part loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. But oh well. They can't possibly figure everything out based on that.

"Hey, Lennox." She gestures for Sideswipe to put her back on the ground and when he does she says, "Lennox, there is someone I would like you to meet. Lennox, this is Sideswipe. Sideswipe, this is Lennox. He's a soldier who helped me…_convince_ Sector Seven to let you go."

Sideswipe nods to the man. "Thank you for your help."

Lennox starts to relax, having decided that everything really is okay with this bot, and flashes a half-smile. "No problem. But we should probably get down to business."

"Right." Ari looks up at Sideswipe. "Sides, the AllSpark is here. Sector Seven has had it all this time. But the thing is, they have Megatron here, too, and the Decepticons are waking him up _right now_. We need to get the Cube out of here before he wakes up and gets to it."

Sideswipe stands up on his wheels. "Let's get going then."

* * *

They all head to the hangar containing the AllSpark with Ari sitting on Sideswipe's shoulder and the others clearing a path for the large bot as they go. Once there Sides gazes at the Cube with complete awe. Ari wonders how long it's been since he's last seen it, but either way the Cube is like a holy relic to them.

Sideswipe puts her back down on the ground next to Lennox and Epps so he can approach the AllSpark. He reaches up with both hands and when he touches it an electric current rushes through the Cube outlining a grid of squares. Then, one by one, the Cube starts folding in on itself following the square pattern until it is the size of Sideswipe's palm.

"Alright," he says. "I've already let the others know that we've got the AllSpark. Where to next?"

"Mission City is twenty-two miles away," Lennox says. "We're gonna sneak that Cube out of here and we're gonna hide it somewhere in the city."

As the others talk over specifics Ari goes up to Sideswipe who kneels down in front of her and holds out the Cube to her.

"Look after this, will you?" he says.

She looks at him questioningly. "You sure?"

"Yeah, once we get into Mission City it will be easier for you to find somewhere to hide with it."

Ari takes the AllSpark in her hands and as soon as she touches it arcs of electricity shoot out into her arms. Sideswipe instantly takes the Cube back. "You alright?" he asks worriedly.

"Yeah," she says, inspecting her hands for signs of harm and then rolling up her sleeves to do the same. "Didn't hurt just…felt weird. Like a burst of adrenaline was shot into my veins. But I'm fine. Didn't even leave a mark."

"Hey, Ari, we're about ready to…," Lennox lets his sentence hang and he stops mid-stride a couple feet away, his eyes fixed on something.

Ari's brow furrows as she follows his gaze. Then her eyes widen in horror, realizing what it is he sees. He's staring at her arms, her still uncovered arms, with her scars in full view. Quickly she pulls her sleeves back down and then takes several steps away until she is huddled up against the side of Sideswipe's leg.

Lennox blinks a few times and then looks her in the eye. "Ari…where did you get those…scars?"

"Just leave it," she says, her voice not sounding nearly as strong as she meant it to.

His face hardens and he takes a few steps forward. "Where did you get those scars?"

She shakes her head fervently.

"Ari," Sideswipe says quietly. "You have to tell someone."

Fear tightens her chest. "No I don't. I already told you and the others. That's enough."

"Yes, you do. You want us to help you with this and part of that will be letting the other humans know what is going on. So why not tell Lennox?"

She shakes her head again.

Sideswipe sighs. "Go finish getting your men ready, Lennox. Let me talk to Ari." Lennox gives them one last look filled with confusion and worry and then does as he's told.

Sides picks Ari up in one hand and brings her up to his face. "Why don't you want to tell him?" he asks softly so that no one else can hear. "Are you afraid?"

Ari nods, her eyes focused on her lap.

"Why?"

"I-I'm afraid of…what he'll think. What any of them will think."

"And what do you think they'll think?"

"That I'm ugly and disgusting. That they'll just say 'you poor child' and then move on. That they won't care. That I'm not worth helping. That I'm weak."

"Oh, Ari," he presses his forehead to hers and she closes her eyes, feeling tears starting to surface. "Why would you think that? That didn't happen when you told me and Sunny. Or when the other Autobots found out. And I already told you, this doesn't make you weak. It makes you strong."

She opens her eyes and stares into his optics helplessly. "Sides, you don't understand. It's so hard to think that with these…_things_," she hold out her arms indicating her scars, "covering me. They're disgusting and I'm ashamed of them, ashamed of me, ashamed that I let them happen, that I let any of it happen. And that's what they'll think. They'll be ashamed of me, too."

"No they won't," he says sternly. "And you know why?"

She shakes her head no, a hand coming up to brush away some of the tears that have escaped.

"Because no one could ever do something like that, not to you. Ari, out of all of the humans I have met so far you have the biggest heart out of all of them. When you realized I wasn't just a car you could have run away screaming, but you didn't. When we asked you to help us find the AllSpark you said yes without a moment's thought. We were strangers to you, stranger and more unknown than anyone you have ever met before, and you still helped us. You became our friend. Not many people would do what you did. Just look at these S-7 creeps. Anyone who'd turn you away or think little of you is as horrible as a Decepticon. And I don't think this Lennox guy is like that. He's a lot like you actually. He helped you save me when he had every reason to be just as scared as everyone else. So don't turn your back on him, Ari."

He makes it sound so easy. Is it really that easy? Or is it as hard as what Ari thinks? To tell someone she is being abused by her father? Telling the Autobots was one thing, but telling humans…it feels like another thing entirely. But why should it be? How is it that she can trust aliens more than her own species? It's not like they're all like her father?

Are they?

And all that stuff he said about her being the nicest human he knows. He hasn't exactly had much of a chance to meet a lot of nice humans. But she certainly isn't the nicest human in the world. There are a lot of other people a lot better than her.

But there is some truth to what he's saying. Lennox is nice. Not like her father. Should she tell him? Trust him?

Ari sniffles and then nods slowly. "O-okay. I won't make any promises but...I'll try."

Sideswipe smiles. "Good. But for now, we need to deal with one problem at a time and that's getting the AllSpark out of here. You ready to go?"

Ari wipes at her face one last time and then sets her face in determination, ready for whatever lies ahead. "Let's do this."

He hands her the Cube, this time without the sparks, and then transforms with her still sitting in his hand to where, when he's done, she is sitting in his driver's seat. She sets the Cube in the passenger's seat and the seat belts click themselves into place around her and the Cube.

With a loud rev of his engine Sideswipe takes off down the tunnel leading their caravan of soldiers out onto the open road heading towards Mission City.

Towards the battle that will determine the fate of the human race.

* * *

_**Author's Note**_

_Okay, guys, next is the Battle of Mission City and I have a question I need to ask you. I can do the next chapter one of two ways: 1. I can make it all one big chapter since this battle is basically the end and there's no really good place to stop for a chapter break. However, it would mean it would take longer to write and you'll have to wait longer for an update. 2. I can split it up into two chapters, stopping at the best place I can find that is relatively halfway in between everything, but it would probably mean a very, very big cliffhanger. But, of course, you already know that everything turns out good in the end because of the movie.  
_

_So, let me know what you guys decide._

_Hope you enjoyed, PLEASE REVIEW, and see you all next time!_


	9. The Battle of Mission City

_**Author's Note**_

_Hello! So, the ending didn't turn out nearly as long as I thought it would. Guess I just never realized how much of the Mission City stuff didn't really involve Sam, meaning, in effect, Ari isn't apart of it either. So, in the end, this turned out average length, but oh well. At least everyone gets what they want now, fast update and all in one shot!  
_

_Okay, now for reviews...actually, you know what, I'm sorry, but I'm feeling really lazy today so I'm not going to do reviews this chapter. It was mostly you guys saying what you wanted me to do with this end of movie stuff anyway. I will say this though, congrats to SunnySides for being my 100th reviewer! Thank you all for the lovely reviews and just because I'm lazy today that doesn't mean I still don't want reviews!**  
**_

_Okay, go onward and read!_

* * *

_**The Battle of Mission City**_

Not far into the drive the other Autobots catch up to them and join their procession of vehicles. Thanks to their speeding it's only about another five minutes until they make it to the busy freeway just outside the city. The Autobots and soldiers merge into the heavy traffic while trying to stay together as best they can. Ari turns to look out the back window when a blur of black and white catches her eye. She locks onto it, a black and white cop car that is gaining on their line of cars. There is no mistaking who it is.

"Frag," Ari says. "Sides, it's that same cop car from before. It's Barricade."

Sideswipe growls. "I thought we got rid of him."

"I guess not. And it doesn't look like he's alone." Driving alongside Barricade is an armored vehicle that is using a claw-scoop-thing at the end of a robotic arm to shovel cars out of the way.

"That's Bonecrusher. We have to make it into the city before he catches up to us."

Optimus, Ratchet, and Ironhide move to block the two Decepticons from advancing further, but then Bonecrusher transforms, using the wheels at the back of his heels as skates so that he glides across the pavement. He goes out of his way to barrel through a bus, breaking it in half and instantly setting the two pieces on fire. Ari swears she sees a smile on his face for the destruction and death he just caused.

As Bonecrusher gains on them Optimus transforms, ready for a fight. Bonecrusher tackles him and they both tumble off of the overpass they are on. Ari tries to keep them in sight, wanting to make sure Optimus is okay, but they keep driving towards the city and soon the two mechs are gone.

"Optimus will be okay, right?" Ari asks, her eyes still looking back, searching, even though she knows it's useless now.

"Pit yeah. Optimus can take care of Bonecrusher with his optics closed. He'll finish him off and meet back up with us in Mission City in no time."

Ari faces forward again just as buildings start to surround them. They head towards a pawn shop so that Lennox can stop and get radios in the hopes of contacting any military aircraft in the area. They keep moving through the city until a jet flies by overhead. Everyone stops and gets out. Ari does as well with the AllSpark in hand, determined not to let it out of her sight.

Lennox releases a canister of green smoke among their group while Epps attempts to contact the jet with his radio.

"Raptor, raptor, do you copy?" Epps says, eyes intent on the jet. "We have you visual. Green smoke is the mark. Provide air cover and vector Black Hawks for extraction."

There is no answer and Ari gets a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

It is confirmed when Ironhide transforms and shouts, "It's Starscream!"

Civilian humans start to panic at the sudden appearance of a giant robot but Ari knows they're about to have something else to be afraid of. Starscream is heading towards them to make another pass, to fire at them. Ari and the soldiers fall back while Ironhide and Sideswipe move in front of them, holding up a semi-truck to use as a shield.

Starscream fires two missiles, the first one missing but the second one hitting the semi head on. The impact sends everyone falling, Ari being thrown into the side of Sunstreaker's alt mode since she was standing right next to him. Dust rises into the air and she sees stars for a few moments, her head spinning. Once everything clears she gets to her feet, her hands instantly grabbing onto the AllSpark again.

"You alright?" Sunstreaker asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She looks Sunny over. "Didn't even give you a scratch."

"You better not have," he says with a huff. "Something tells me I'm about to get enough of them. Don't need you humans giving me some, too."

Ari chuckles and then looks over the destruction, the soldiers who are getting back on their feet, and picking out the Autobots one by one to make sure they are alright. Ironhide is still in one piece, though she knows it would take a lot to bring him down.

"Where's Sideswipe?" Sunny suddenly asks and Ari looks at him in confusion. He sounds worried and Sunny never sounds worried. "He's hurt. Bad. I can feel it."

Her breath hitches and she looks out over the destruction again until her eyes catch a flash of silver. "There!" she points towards the form of Sideswipe crawling out of a dent he make in the side of a delivery truck and she rushes towards him. Sunstreaker transforms and follows behind her.

When she's a few feet in front of Sides she notices his legs. "No….," she says in horror, tears prickling at her eyes. His legs, they're just…gone. "Ratchet!"

"I don't think Ratchet has time to fix this," Sides says with a half-smile. "Looks like I'm out of this fight."

Sunstreaker shakes his head. "Idiot. What were you thinking, getting yourself trashed like that?"

"Trust me, I had other ideas."

Things start to explode again and they look over to see a tank coming down the street. The soldiers and the remaining Autobots, besides Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, get ready for a fight.

Sideswipe gets himself sitting up against a pile of rubble with this shattered legs lying out in front of him. He looks at Ari with pleading eyes. "Ari, you've got to go."

"What?" she asks in disbelief. "No! I'm not leaving you!"

"You have to. You have to keep the AllSpark safe. You need to get out of here before the Decepticons find it and you."

"No, I'm not leaving you! You would never leave me so I'm not going to leave you!"

"Ari-"

She shakes her head defiantly. "No!"

Sideswipe looks at his brother. "Sunny, you have to take her."

"No way, mech," Sunny says. "I'm not leaving you either. What would you do if a Decepticon decided to attack you?"

"This isn't about me!" Sides snaps angrily. "This is about saving everyone! If the Decepticons get a hold of it, then all of this is for nothing."

Ari squeezes her eyes tight, not wanting to hear it. She knows that if she hears it a part of her will agree with him. She should leave, get the AllSpark somewhere safe. Not just to save them, but the entire human race. The whole planet. Pit, the whole _universe_. That's what's at stake. If the Decepticons aren't stopped here, then there will be no stopping them.

But she can't just leave Sideswipe. She's afraid that if she does, if she leaves him here with no legs, so completely vulnerable, he'll die.

All around her there are explosions and gunshots and cries of pain and metallic noises. And in the middle of it all Ari cries at her complete helplessness. She's so tired of feeling helpless. She was helpless to keep her mother from leaving. She was helpless to keep her father from drinking and then beating her. She has always been helpless. And now she is helpless to save Sideswipe. Her first friend, someone she cares about more than anyone and who actually cares about her in return. There is nothing she can do to help him.

Her shoulders shake as tears stream down her face.

A few land on the AllSpark.

A blue glow starts to filter in through her eyelids.

"What the frag?" she hears Sunstreaker say.

Ari opens her eyes to see the AllSpark…glowing. There are several Cybertronian symbols carved into the Cube and the one that is larger than all the rest is glowing a soft blue. Then another, smaller symbol on the same side begins to glow. And then another on a different side starts to do the same. And then another, and another, and another, until there are seven symbols glowing in all, the large one and six smaller symbols, one on each side of the cube. The glowing symbols begin to dim, all except for one of the smaller symbols. It glows brighter.

Others have started to notice what's going on. The battle ceases for a moment as humans and Cybertronians alike stare at the AllSpark in wonderment, none of the Cybertronians seeming to ever have seen something like this happen before.

Sparks arc out of the Cube, a lot like they did when Ari first touched it, except now they reach out for Sideswipe. They caress his leg until the remarkable happens. Before their eyes new metal and wire begins to form. Sideswipe's legs grow back. Once the process is complete the glowing and sparking stops.

Sideswipe gets up on his new legs, bending at the knee several times to test them out and they seem fine. "What the frag just happened?" he asks in awe.

"I don't know," Ari says, looking down at the Cube in her hands. "But I'm glad it did."

_Thank you, AllSpark…or Primus…or whoever just did that. Just…thank you._

Everything begins to move again. The Decepticons resume attacking, Megatron coming out of nowhere to take a few swipes at the Autobots.

His red optics lock onto Ari holding the AllSpark. She gulps. He had seen it, too.

The tank Decepticon gets back up. Another Decepticon, this one a helicopter, lands on a nearby building.

Things are getting pretty bad.

"Ari," Lennox yells, running towards her.

"Did you see what just happened?" she asks him.

"Yeah, yeah, I did, but that's another confusing discussion for another time. We have to get the Cube out of here but I can't leave my guys. Take this flare," he hands the red flammable stick to her. "Okay, there's a tall, white building with statues on top. Go to the roof. Set the flare."

Ari looks down at the flare and the Cube in her hands and then back up at Lennox. She nods. "Alright. Where is this building?"

Lennox points it out to her. She licks her lips anxiously. It's several blocks away. "We'll hold them off, you just run straight for that building and signal the chopper with the flare, alright?"

"O-okay." She looks up at Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, with Ironhide and Ratchet now standing next to them.

"Ari, we will protect you," Ironhide says.

Sideswipe gives her a wide grin and unsheathes his blades. "You know we will. You have nothing to fear."

Ari takes a deep breath. She is scared out of her mind. So much could go wrong between here and that building. She could die trying to do this. But she has to. It's like her great-great grandfather used to say: No sacrifice, no victory. She must be willing to sacrifice herself now if she is ever going to make it. If they are ever going to defeat the Decepticons once and for all.

She returns Sideswipe's grin. "Let's do this."

And then she takes off running.

Ari weaves around debris as she runs for her life, explosions sounding too close for comfort behind her. The Decepticons know she has the AllSpark now and they are coming after her for it. But she has four Autobots covering her. She can make it. She can make it.

The Decepticon chopper lands down the street and fires. Ironhide steps in front of Ari and blocks the attack with a car but he ends up falling to the side in the process. Ari doesn't know how injured he is but there is no time to check. The chopper transforms and flies by right over her head.

She just keeps running as fast as she can.

After another block Starscream lands right in front of her and she's forced to stop and roll to the side to avoid the cars he shoves out of his way and straight at her.

Ratchet and Ironhide step up to fight him off while Ari gets up again to run with Sideswipe and Sunstreaker on either side of her making sure she gets away.

The building is only a few blocks away when Ari chances a look at a passing alley. Something catches her eye and she stops to get a better look. She knows those faceplates.

It's Jazz, lying in two pieces, in worse shape than Sideswipe was, with energon pulling beneath him.

"Ari, we can't stop," Sunstreaker says impatiently. He fires off a few shots at a Decepticon behind them with his blaster. "We have to keep going."

"But it's Jazz," Ari says while running up to the fallen Autobot. His optics are barely still online. "I have to help him."

"There's no time," Sides says. "Ratchet will take care of him later. We have to get you and the Cube to that building now! We can't stop or the Decepticons will get you."

"I'll be fine. I just need two minutes." She gives them a wry grin. "Surely the infamous twins can hold off a few Decepticons for that long."

She knows she has them when they look at each other with matching mischievous optics. "You know we can," Sunny says. "Come on, Sides, lets show these mechs who they're dealing with." And then they fall out of sight of the mouth of the alley, but she knows they won't go too far.

Ari turns back to Jazz, placing a hand on his arm. The metal is so cold, unlike the warmth she knows there should be.

"Please," she whispers. "Whoever is listening, please, help me like you did before with Sideswipe. I don't know if it was the Cube itself or maybe even Primus, but I could use your help again. Jazz is going to die if you don't help him now."

Nothing happens for a minute and she starts to think that maybe she was wrong. But then the same symbol as before starts to glow. She stares down at it with a smile. Arcs of blue energy reach out for Jazz's two halves, lifting his legs back over to the rest of his body and joining them back together. When everything stops Ari stares at the vacant optics hoping she wasn't too late.

They blink blue once, then turn off again. They blink again, several times in the same second, and then go dark. Then they turn on, staying on this time, and Jazz coughs as his ventilation system starts to kick in again.

Jazz groans as he sits up, rubbing his head with one hand. "Wha' happened?" he asks. "Thought I was on mah way back to the Well o' Sparks."

"Not quite, Jazz," Ari says with a soft smile. "You can't leave us yet. Still too many Decepticons who haven't gotten a piece of you yet."

"You know tha's right." He gets up on his feet, unsteady at first, but then finding his balance. "Need an escort, lil' lady?"

"Yes, if you don't mind. I think my original two are probably a little tied up at the moment." They head back out of the mouth of the alley and see that, yes, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker are engaged with fighting off a Decepticon, twin grins on their faces as they work together with twin blades to fight him off. Ari catches Sideswipe's optic and she nods to him. He nods in acknowledgment and she takes off towards the building again with Jazz by her side. Once he sees her safely inside he goes off to join the fight with the rest of them.

It's an old abandoned building with nothing inside. Ari wonders what it used to be as she heads across the huge space to a hallway that hopefully leads to the stairs, but her thoughts are interrupted when she hears a voice, "Give me the Cube, girl!"

Ari doesn't have to look back outside to know that it is Megatron.

She runs towards the stairs with added urgency.

As she makes it into the hallway of the second story she hears a loud crash of glass shattering. "I smell you, girl."

All of a sudden the floor right behind her explodes upward, the wood splintering into pieces as Megatron breaks through. Ari makes it into a small stairwell that appears to go straight up to the roof just in time.

By the time she makes it all the way up to the roof Ari's legs feel like jelly from all of the flights of stairs but she still keeps going as fast as she can. She can't afford to stop for anything, not even to rest for a second. Making her way across the roof she hears the sound of the chopper approaching. She hits the end of the flare against the wall she runs alongside and the pink flame comes to life. "Hey! I'm over here!" she calls out.

She keeps running, flare held high, to the edge of the roof where another chopper appears from below to pick up her and the Cube. She drops the flare and takes the Cube in both hands, reaching out beyond the edge of the roof to the man in the helicopter reaching out to take the Cube. They are just centimeters apart.

Then Ari sees Starscream fire a missile. She leans back. "Watch out!"

But they are too late. The missile collides with the top of the helicopter. Ari falls to the ground as the helicopter swerves, the tail end going over the roof and the back propeller barely missing her. She gets back on her feet and begins to run again just as Megatron catches up to her, crashing through the roof of the building from underneath.

He has her, has her trapped. She needs a place to hide. Seeing no other option, Ari gets up on the edge of the roof and eases herself behind one of the statues in the corner, barely hanging on by her fingers and toes. She tries to stay quiet despite her fear of falling backwards but it hardly matters.

"Is it fear or courage that compels you, fleshling?" Megatron says, the sound of his metallic footsteps clearly indicating he is approaching her, her attempt of hiding proving fruitless. "Give me the AllSpark and you may live to be my pet."

His pet? That doesn't sound like a very good option. Then again, falling to her death doesn't sound like a very good option either. But Ari already knows what it's like to be a pet. It would be no different than what she was to her father, someone to use and abuse whenever he pleased. And she will _never_ go back to that life.

"I'm never giving you the AllSpark!" Ari answers.

"Oh, so unwise." Megatron then raises his weapon and severs Ari's little corner from the rest of the roof.

She screams as she falls backwards, keeping the AllSpark clutched against her chest. She wishes the Cube would give her the power of flight, but she highly doubts it can do that. Ari spins through the air, head over heels, down, down, down.

Then something catches her. Ari's heart races as she gets her bearings back. She is being held in Optimus's hand from where he hangs against two buildings.

"I've got you, Ari," he says as he holds her firmly against his chest. "Hold onto the Cube!" And then they are falling down again, with Optimus jumping from building to building, skidding down the sides to slow their decent.

A couple of stories from the ground Megatron falls on top of them from above, causing all of them to hurtle towards the ground. Ari lands on top of Optimus's chest, Megatron not far away from them. All around there are people's screams.

Ari gets up on her knees and looks at Optimus. "Are you okay?"

"I am fine," he says. "You risked your life to protect the Cube."

"No sacrifice, no victory."

"If I cannot defeat Megatron, you must push the Cube into my chest. I will sacrifice myself to destroy it. Get behind me."

Ari doesn't like the sound of that plan but she does as she is told, getting off of Optimus to hide in a large gash in the earth.

"It's you and me Megatron," Optimus says as the two Cybertronians get to their feet.

"No," Megatron replies, "It's just me, Prime."

"At the end of this day, one shall stand, one shall fall."

Megatron hits Optimus, sending him into the side of a building. "You still fight for the weak." He grabs Optimus by the back of his shoulders and flings him aside. "That is why you lose!"

Things aren't looking good, but Ari stays still. She won't destroy the AllSpark by killing Optimus. She won't, not unless it's the absolute last resort. And she doesn't believe it will come to that. Not while she still has something to say about it.

Jets arrive, friendly, non-Decepticon jets this time, and shoot at Megatron. The soldiers shoot at him as well, causing him to fall back. Debris is falling really close to where she is hiding so she makes a run for Optimus, getting behind him again. Megatron come for her, making a grab for her, but Ari ducks down so that he misses.

Ari is now lying on the ground, both Optimus and Megatron crawling towards her.

"Ari, put the Cube in my chest!" Optimus tells her. She looks at him wide-eyed. No, she can't do that. "Now, Ari!"

Megatron is coming right over top of her and she makes her choice.

Ari goes up to Megatron and shoves the Cube into _his _chest before he has a chance to stop her. The Cube collides with Megatron's spark, the two energies overheating each other, and they both disintegrate. Megatron cries out in pain as his lifeforce slowly dies.

Ari cries out in pain as well. There is a searing heat coursing through her body, originating from the AllSpark in her hands. Blue energy is flowing from the Cube and into her, wrapping around her limbs and dissolving into her skin. There is a blinding light and she closes her eyes against it, but still she sees it. Then, in the light, there is a figure, no, _figures_, and one of them says something to her.

"_Power such as this can never be destroyed, only transformed."_

Next thing Ari knows it is over. The pain is gone, the AllSpark is no longer in her hands, and Megatron is lying dead at her feet. A quiet descends over everyone. The whole battle appears to be over now, now that the leader of the Decepticons is dead.

Ari slowly backs away and closer to Optimus. He walks towards Megatron, looking at the dimming red optics sadly.

"You left me no choice, brother," he says quietly. He then leans down in front of her. "Ari, I owe you my life. We are in your debt."

She smiles at him. "I don't know how it works on Cybertron, but here on Earth, friends never owe each other anything. Besides, there is already something you promised you'd help me with."

Optimus smiles back at her. "And we will keep that promise." He stands to address the gathering soldiers. "We have gained many new comrades this day. Thank you. All of you. You honor us with your bravery."

Among the Autobots Ari sees a pair of silver and yellow mechs and she happily runs up to them, arms held out. Sideswipe grins and picks her up into his arms.

"We did it," she says happily as she's placed sitting on his forearm.

"No," Sideswipe says, "You did it, Ari. It's finally over."

Ari frowns. He's right, it's over. So…now what? What's going to happen to the Autobots? What are the world's leaders going to do? How will they react? Will they let the Autobots stay or will they insist they leave? And what about when the Autobots fulfill their promise to her? What will happen to her then? And will she ever see them again?

Will she ever see Sideswipe again?

"So what now?" she asks, her stomach twisting in knots anxiously.

"Well, I actually have an idea about that." Sideswipe looks to Optimus. "Permission to speak, sir?"

Optimus finishes fishing one lone AllSpark shard that survived in Megatron's chest and then replies, "Of course, Sideswipe. What is it?"

"When all is said and done I would like to stay with Ari."

Ari gapes at Sideswipe, mouth and eyes wide. "B-but what about the Autobots? And Sunstreaker? You can't just leave them."

"I've already thought a lot about this, Ari, and with Megatron gone now the decision is only made easier. Things will finally be settling down now that the leader of the Decepticons is gone. All that will be left is to pick off any stragglers that are already on Earth or ever end up here. Megatron was the strongest among them, so with him gone they won't be able to come back in full force again. The Autobots won't need me to be around all the time, but if they do need me I'm just a quick Comm Link away. As for Sunny, well," he looks over at his brother, "he actually said he's going to come with me."

Ari's brow shoots skyward.

Sideswipe chuckles. "I know, right? I was surprised, too. Yeah, it'll be easier on us since distance causes our bond pain, but he really needs more of an excuse than that to stay out of the fight."

"Hey, I'll probably be helping out the Autobots a lot more than you," Sunstreaker says. "So it won't be so bad. But the main reason I agreed is because I know how you two feel about each other. Keeping you apart would be more painful than keeping us apart."

Ari and Sideswipe look at him blankly. "What are you talking about?" they both say at the same time.

Everyone cracks up laughing, Autobots and humans. Sunny shakes his head. "Wow, you're perfect for each other. Both dense in the processor. Maybe another reason I should go with you is to help things along. Looks like you're both going to be clueless without a little help." Everyone laughs harder at that but Ari and Sideswipe still look at him with questioning looks. They look at each other for a few moments and then shrug.

Whatever it is they're sure they'll figure it out eventually.

"So," Sideswipe says, getting back on topic. "Can I stay with Ari?"

"If that is her choice," Optimus says.

Sideswipe looks into Ari's pale blue eyes with hope shining in his optics.

Ari grins at him. "There is nothing I could ever possibly want more."

* * *

**_Author's Note_**

_And that is the end of the first movie everyone! Wow, it's been a long adventure going through this movie, but now it is time for an even bigger adventure. It is time for me to do my own thing for a little while until I get to the events of the second movie. Although I still don't know if she's even going to college or not. Whatever happens from here to the second movie, it's going to be a lot different than what Sam would have done. I mean, I know she said that she was saving up for college but...well...after all of this, things are different now. I think you can all guess how, considering what was going on with the AllSpark this chapter. But let's set that aside for a moment. _

_First things first: she has to deal with her dad. _

_Now excuse me while I go off with "What I've Done" by Linkin Park stuck in my head._

_Hope you enjoyed, PLEASE REVIEW, and see you all next time!_


	10. Aftermath

_**Author's Note**_

_Okay, so I lied. The battle didn't turn out extremely long, but the aftermath did. I decided to keep it all together since I couldn't find any place to stop that I liked. And I wanted to stop at a certain point. You are probably going to hate me for it, but oh well. *evil smile*  
_

_Now I shall do reviews:_

**_Neon: _**_Yes, it was a Furby truck. Death to the Furbys!_

**_velociraptor4659: _**_Aw, thank you that makes me so happy. And I'm glad you like the AllSpark stuff. I'm trying to keep it original. Emphasis on trying._

**_Dragon of Yin and Yang: _**_You honor me by reading. :) And there's not going to be an official sequel, I'm just keeping everything together as one big long story._

**_FourHorses: _**_Yes, I liked Sunny's line too._

**_Whitelily Prime: _**_ Okay, I was literary practically in tears when I read your review. It made me so happy and means so much to me that you think that. You have no idea. Thank you a million times over._

**_SunnySides: _**_Yes, Jazz lives. You are welcome._

**_Renee Swan: _**_No, she is not going to turn into an Autobot, I'm going somewhere else with it._

**_Bee4ever: _**_Thanks!_

**_vikehi: _**_Lol you are welcome. :)_

**_swimfeared: _**_I'm already kind of planning on that, though for more than just that reason. You'll just have to wait and see. ;)_

**_KeepingThemAtBay: _**_Well, I didn't do is speech because, technically, it hasn't happened yet. This chapter picks up right where the last one left off but none of this is in the movie so I consider last chapter the end of the movie._

**_dbzfan1234: _**_Thanks!_

**_The Warrior of Hope: _**_Lol. Just...lol**.**_

**_ChemicalEquinox: _**_Thanks!_

**_Allseer: _**_Thank you! :)_

**_Stormin' Hudson: _**_Yeah, I always thought is speech really proper, too._

**_Eleyond: _**_Indeed they are._

_Okay, that's everyone. Onward you go!_

* * *

_**Aftermath**_

Not long after the end of the battle a bunch of Sector Seven agents in white vans show up. The clean-up crew. They make sure to gather any evidence suggesting an alien presence, including the corpses of all of the fallen Decepticons, and they sweep through the city looking for any and all witnesses. How they're going to cover everything up, exactly, Ari isn't sure. But she's glad she doesn't have anything to do with it.

While the agents get to work Ari, the soldiers, and the Autobots all get herded back to Hoover Dam for a debriefing. Banachek and Simmons insist on knowing exactly what went down, so as soon as they enter the hanger the humans get hauled off into separate rooms to await questioning while the Autobots are kept in the hanger where some agents are setting up a camera and several monitors.

The Autobots are to meet with the world leaders.

Ari is worried what the rest of the humans of the world will say to the Autobots coming to live on Earth. Will they be as openhearted and understanding as Ari? Not likely. Not after all the things she's seen Sector Seven do. But there is always a chance that S7 is just a bad penny. Besides, it's not like humans will really be able to make the Autobots do anything they don't want to do, although she knows that Optimus does plan on being compliant with the world's leaders as much as possible. The last thing he wants is to cause a war between all Cybertronians and humans. Then it would be like everything they have been working for since arriving on Earth was for nothing.

But she doesn't get to think on if for long because she then gets shoved into her own room, looking a lot like an interrogation room with a table, a chair on either side, and a security camera looking down on her in the corner. Ari is left in there alone for a little while. When it will be her turn for questioning, she has no idea. She just hopes it won't be Banachek or Simmons to question her. She debates on taking a nap while she waits but the chair she is forced to sit in is uncomfortable, like the plastic chairs they have in school. Still, she lays her head down on her folded arms on the table to at least attempt it. How long has it been since she last slept? She hardly remembers now. Ari wracks her brain. The last time she remembers sleeping was more of a forced sleep, when S7 drugged her. She woke up that morning on the helicopter at around sunrise. The sun had just been beginning to set by the time they made it back to the dam. So that would make it, what, twelve to fifteen hours? And most of that was running for her life. Never has she felt more exhausted than now. She sniffs her arm. And she could really use a shower. Lifting her head back up she realizes she never really did get a good look at herself. What she sees doesn't really surprise her considering all of the explosions and falling and rolling around on the ground: she's absolutely covered in dirt, barely being able to recognize her once red shirt. And she's covered in fresh cuts. Those are going to need cleaning soon. Maybe once all of this questioning business is over with she can go see Ratchet. Maybe he has some aspirin for the headache that is starting up in her temple too.

The door to her little room opens and in steps an suite-clad agent with short-cropped brown hair.

"Hi," Ari says, trying for polite, but she gets no response. All he does is sit down in the chair across from her and sets a recorder on the table.

He frowns at her, though he's been frowning since he entered the room, and his eyes look bored. Even his voice sounds bored when he speaks, "Tell me everything that happened since you left base."

"Will I be able to go see the Autobots when we're done?" she asks.

He says nothing.

She sighs. Might as well get this over with.

A very long time later, Ari isn't really sure how long since sometime during this grand adventure she lost her phone, Ari finally finishes telling her side of things. Though she left out the part about some of the AllSpark stuff with the light and seeing those figures and hearing that voice. No need to sound crazy like her grandfather. But everything else she was truthful with.

"So, can I go see the Autobots now?" she asks again.

The agent says nothing, just turns off his recorder, gets up, and leaves. Ari tries to follow after him but when she tries the door handle she finds it locked.

_Oh, great, now I'm a prisoner again._

With nothing else she can do she sits back down to play the waiting game again. It's starting to feel a little on the warm side in her little room making her tempted to roll up her sleeves but with one glance at the security camera she decides not to. The last thing she wants is for whoever is watching her, and she's sure someone is, to see her scars. It's probably that creepy Simmons, too.

What feels like an hour later her door opens again, this time Banachek walking in. And he does not look happy.

"So," he says tersely, standing over her without bothering to sit down, "one of our greatest discoveries breaks out of our facility, we hand over our crown jewel to you, and _then_ you go and destroy them both. That about sums it up, right?"

She pretends to think it over for a minute and then nods. "Yeah, that sounds about right."

He narrows his eyes at her. "Do you have any idea what you've done?"

"Yeah, I saved all our afts. What would you rather me have done? Just hand the Cube over to Megatron?"

"I would rather you not have destroyed something irreplaceable. We made so many important discoveries and technologies by studying NBE-1 and the Cube."

She rolls her eyes. "So you're mad that I destroyed your toys and your money magnets instead of just being happy that, by destroying them both, I saved the world? There was no way around it, Banachek. It was either the Cube and Megatron, or the Earth. I chose Earth. Slag, even Optimus chose Earth and he and the Cybertronians had a lot more to lose than a little money. They lost the chance to continue their race. And, news flash, the Cube was never yours to keep." He opens his mouth to speak but she cuts him off. "And don't even think about giving me that finders-keepers crap. Sure, that works for a while, but when the real owner of an object comes around wanting it back most _nice, decent_ people would hand it over."

Banachek lets out a frustrated sigh and closes his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. He then points at the door. "Just get out. The agent in the hall will show you where to go."

Ari happily does as she's told, hoping she's going to be led to the Autobots, but instead she's taken to where the soldiers, Maggie, and Glen are all gathered, in a large room with a long table with several chairs around it, looking like some sort of conference room.

Before her escort leaves she asks him, "Where are the Autobots?"

"They are still talking to the world leaders along with Defense Secretary Keller, going over the creation of a treaty that will contain the terms of their being able to stay on Earth," he says stoically.

She brightens at that. They're going to let the Autobots stay! "When will I be able to see them?"

He says nothing and leaves.

She groans and goes to sit down in the empty plush leather seat next to Lennox. She's tired and cranky and just wants to go curl up in Sideswipe's interior and sleep for a week. Is that too much to ask?

"Hey, Ari," Lennox says with a smile but his eyes show he's just as tire as she is. Everyone at the table is. "How you holding up?"

"Could be better," she grumbles tiredly. "They won't let me go see Sideswipe and the others."

"I'm sure they'll let you go soon. Here," he hands her a paper plate and a sandwich from the platter on the table. "You should probably eat something after all that energy you burned." He pushes over a bottled water as well.

Her stomach growls loudly in response. "Guess I really am hungry. Thanks." She then chows down on her ham and cheese.

As she eats she starts tuning in to the conversations going on around her and they are strangely…normal. Ari doesn't know what she was expecting after having gone through an alien war together, but she didn't expect everyone to just start talking about their lives. She finds out that Glen lives with his grandmother, which doesn't surprise her except for the fact she half expected it to be his mother's basement. Maggie is an analyst who was hired to work for NSA right out of college. Epps is married with no kids so far but they're trying. Epps didn't seem to Ari like the kind of guy who would settle down. Lennox is also married and he has his first little girl waiting to see him for the first time at home. He had been overseas during the birth.

"What about you?" Epps asks, staring at Ari.

A slight blush dusts her cheeks at suddenly being the center of attention to so many eyes. "What about me?"

"What's your home life like? You know, parents, annoying siblings, the works.

Ari shifts in her seat uncomfortably, eyes darting around the room looking for a way out. She had been sort of contemplating telling Lennox about her situation at home, but to tell _all_ of these people? She doesn't think she can do it. So, what, should she lie and tell Lennox the truth later in private? Should she just not tell the truth all together?

She opens her mouth, not really knowing what her decision is yet, when the door opens to reveal Banachek. Ari sighs in relief. That had been close. And maybe now she can get them to take her to the Autobots.

"You will all be allowed to go home soon," Banachek says, taking a few steps into the room.

"It's about time," Epps mutters.

"We're just making a few final preparations to help make your trips home a little easier." He then looks a Ari. "Speaking of which, your father is here. We had taken him in when we first came to…collect you. He has been informed of everything so there will be no need for you to keep secrets from him. I'll have an agent send him in in a few moments." Banachek then leaves again.

Ari sits in her seat in shock, her eyes still trained wide-eyed on the now closed door, mouth slightly open. Her father. He's here. He's _here_. And they're going to send him in. Meaning she's going to have to see him again. She's going to have to face him on her own. And they're planning on her going home with him.

She was so glad when Mission City was over but now she would happily go back.

"I have to get to Sideswipe," she whispers. She gets up and goes to the door. Turning the handle she finds that it's locked. Of course. "Let me out!" she yells while banging on the door with the palm of her hand. "Please, you have to take me to the Autobots!"

"Ari," Lennox says but she doesn't pay any attention. "Ari!" he tries again but she just keeps banging on the door and shouting to be taken to the Autobots. He gets up and grabs her shoulders. "Ari, calm down." As soon as he touches her she lets out a small scream and yanks herself away from him. She backs away until her back hits the wall. Lennox raises his hands, palms out, and speaks in a soothing voice, "It's okay, Ari. It's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you."

She wraps her arms around herself. She's begun to shiver and she can't seem to get it to stop. "J-just d-don't touch me."

Epps gets up to stand next to Lennox, ready to help. "We won't. We'll just stand right here. That alright with you?" Ari nods and Lennox lowers his arms. Epps gives her a friendly smile. "Now, you mind telling us what's going on?"

_Just shut your emotions down and tell him, Ari. Don't think about it and just let the words out. It was so easy before with Sideswipe. Why is it so fragging difficult now? I thought the first time was supposed to be the hardest. _Her eyes dart to the other people in the room behind Lennox, all of them staring at her like she's gone nuts, waiting to see why.

Lennox follows her gaze and then looks back at her. "What, you don't want to say with all of them here?"

Ari shakes her head no. No, she can't do it. She can't tell everyone. She can't let _everyone_ know how weak she is.

"Alright, then we'll-" Lennox's words are cut off by the door opening again.

A man is let in and then the door is closed shut.

It's her father.

"Arianna," Ron says, his face and voice full of concern. "Arianna, I was so worried about you." He wraps her in a constricting hug and she just stands there without returning the embrace.

It's all an act, she knows, one he has played many times before and can do so very well. But she can always tell just by looking into his dull brown eyes. There is no love and concern there.

"The agents told me everything," he says, still holding her. "That your car was actually an alien robot. How awful. I hope those monsters didn't hurt you, did they?"

Bile rises in Ari's mouth but she forces it down. Sideswipe, a monster? No, Sideswipe wouldn't hurt her in a million years. The real monster is holding her right now and he's just waiting for the chance to hurt her again. She can tell by the way his hand comes up to her messy hair and tugs painfully at the long locks. He wants her to say something, to keep the act going herself.

But she just can't do that. Not anymore.

Ari shifts her head discretely so that she can look around Ron's shoulder at Lennox. He's looking at the father and daughter with observing eyes. Hope flutters in Ari's chest. He can sense something is off. Then he'll be able to understand Ari's pleading stare.

Lennox returns her gaze, still with those critical eyes, for only a few seconds when they widen in understanding. He looks at Epps and there is understanding in his eyes as well. And then their entire demeanors harden. Lennox clears his throat loudly to get Ron's attention. "Sir?"

Ron finally lets her go, gives her a cold glare, and then turns to the captain with seeming friendliness. "Yes?"

"There's a few more things we still need to go over with your daughter about what happened today," Lennox says, his soldier training allowing him to act professional without letting his anger get the best of him.

"Alright, what is it?" Ron refuses to take the hint, instead placing an arm around Ari's shoulders. Her entire body tenses under his touch.

Lennox's jaw clenches. "We need to speak to her _alone_, sir."

Ron looks the two soldiers over, assessing just how serious they are, and gives a strained smile. "Very well." He places a kiss on Ari's head and then puts his mouth next to her ear to whisper, "Tell them anything and you're _dead_." He then goes over to talk politely to some of the other soldiers.

Lennox motions Ari over and she follows him and Epps to the far corner of the room as far away from her father as they can get. She places her back to the wall again, the sturdy structure comforting, and Lennox and Epps stand in front of her completely blocking her view of Ron.

"Can you see him?" Epps asks quietly.

"No," she whispers.

"Then he can't see you," Lennox says just as quietly. "If you can't see his face, he can't see yours. We talk quietly enough and he won't hear what we say. He won't have any idea what we're talking about or what you tell us."

Ari's eyes dart back and forth between Lennox and Epps, settling longer on Epps as she bites her lip.

Epps scoffs in exaggerated hurt. "What, you'll tell my man, Will, here but you won't tell Uncle Rob? That's harsh, Ari. Real harsh." His antics bring a small smile to her lips and he grins back at her. "You can trust me, Ari. Promise."

She thinks it over for a second and then nods. She'll tell Lennox and Epps, but no one else that isn't absolutely necessary.

"Now tell me truthfully, Ari," Lennox looks her directly in the eye. "Is what's going on what I think it is?"

Ari slowly nods.

Lennox and Epps exchange glances, proud to have guessed it right but hating the answer.

"For how long?" Epps asks.

"N-not with him here," Ari pleads. "Get me to the Autobots and I'll tell you everything. They said they would take care of me, help me. They have some of the evidence, too."

"Now how are we supposed to do that? We're in a locked, guarded room. We don't even get to go out to use the bathroom since there's one connected to this room already."

"We'll just have to think of something," Lennox says. "Ari's right, it's too dangerous to do this here with him in the same room. We need a plan."

A loud explosion echoes throughout the building. Seconds later sirens go off.

"These guys just don't quit, do they?" Epps says and all of the soldiers head towards the door, Ari not far behind.

"What was that?" Ron asks and starts to follow them.

"I don't think so," Lennox stops him with a hand on his shoulder. "You, you, and you," he points at Maggie, Glen, and Ron, "stay here. If this is the Decepticons back for a rematch I don't need civilians getting in the way."

"And you're going to let my daughter go?" Ron asks, his anger starting to show.

Epps steps closer to Ari but is careful not to touch her. "Could be that they're just here for round two in general. But it's more likely that they're here for a reason. Ari took out their leader, Megatron. I don't know about you, but if someone took out the President of the United States, America would send out the troops to bring the rain in a heartbeat."

"Then shouldn't she stay here where it's safe?"

"Safe would be with the Autobots," Lennox replies, though Ari can tell there is so much more he wants to say with that.

The door opens and they turn to leave, thinking it's just Banachek who's come to get their help.

Instead they see Sideswipe's and Sunstreaker's holoforms standing there with triumphant grins on their faces. Though Ari is the only one to actually recognize them.

She also recognizes those grins, whether they be holoform or bot.

"Sides, Sunny, what's going on here?" she asks suspiciously.

Lennox looks at her in surprise. "You know them?"

"You all do. It's Sideswipe and Sunstreaker. Their holoforms, if you want to get technical."

"Yep," Sides says cheerily. "It's just us. Easier to get around small spaces like human-sized hallways this way."

The soldiers look at them, a little in shock, but slowly nod in acceptance.

"So what are you doing here?" Ari asks. "Let me guess. There is no actual attack, is there?"

Their twin grins widen. "Nope," Sides answers. "Just a little diversion we whipped up is all. We finished discussions with the leaders of Earth and wanted to see you but the S7 goons wouldn't let us. So, we came to bust you out."

Ari laughs. "Oh, Primus, what did you two do?"

Sunny shrugs. "Nothing much. Just a paint bomb."

"Where did you get a paint bomb?" Epps asks.

"We made it from some parts we got from one of the vehicles in the hanger we're being kept in. The paint we found in a supply closet."

Ari shakes her head. "You two are ridiculous. But you do have good timing. I've been trying to convince Sector Seven to let me visit you guys for hours."

"_You! _You are not taking my daughter anywhere."

Oops. Ari forgot her father would recognize them as well.

Sideswipe catches sight of her father standing near the table at the back of the group and grins. "I was hoping we would run into you." He pulls some kind of rubber ball out of his pocket and steps protectively in front of Ari. Ron starts to stalk towards them, the act gone and full furry unmasked on his face.

"You guys might want to back up," Sunny tells the others.

Oh, slag.

Ari quickly motions for the soldiers to back up as far as they can away from the two holoforms. Her father pays no attention and just goes right up to them, pulling his fist back to make a punch.

He doesn't get a chance to. Sideswipe tosses the ball at him and it explodes right in his face, coating the entire front of his body in pink paint and knocking him to the ground.

Epps goes over to check on him. "Looks like he's out cold. How much explosives did you use? And where did you get _pink_ paint?"

Sides rubs the back of his head. "Probably too much for when throwing it in his face but at least now we don't have to deal with him anymore. And we didn't find any pink, but there was a lot of white and a little bit of red. We just mixed them together. Thought they needed some brighter colors in this place. Now how about we get out of here?"

"Right, you guys stay here," Lennox says to the other soldiers. "If he wakes up do _not_ let him go anywhere. Understood?" They all nod.

"Alright, guys," Ari says to Sides and Sunny. "Lead the way."

The prank works wonders, not a soul is in sight as they make their way through the hallways towards the Autobot hanger. Still, they keep at a brisk jog and check around corners just to be sure. Though Ari has a hard time going so slow. With each step she takes the stress of the day catches up to her, the kidnapping, thinking the worst had happened to Sideswipe, the battle, almost getting killed several times, the strangeness with the AllSpark, having to face her father. _Especially _having to face her father. Any minute now he could wake up and be after her. If he's really determined a couple of soldiers aren't going to stop him, not since he already has Sector Seven convinced he's a good guy. He'll demand to have her back and they'll hand her over without question.

She's practically at a run by the time they make it to the tunnel leading to the right hanger, Sideswipe keeping pace with her. When she makes it into the open space the holoform blinks out and Sideswipe's alt mode instantly stands up.

He knows what she wants without her having to do anything. Sides picks her up and wraps her securely in his arms. It's the only place she feels safe anymore.

"Are you alright?" Sideswipe whispers.

"Not really," she says. "It's just, after everything that's happened today and then Ron showing up and S7 saying I was going to be going home with him soon." She looks up at him, panic clear in her pale blue eyes. "Don't let him take me, Sideswipe. Don't let them make me leave with him."

Sideswipe tightens his grip on her. "That's not going to happen. I promise."

"As do we," Optimus says, walking up to them. "We made you a promise, Ari, to keep you safe from your father, and we intend to keep it."

Ari sighs with relief and closes her eyes tiredly, leaning her head against Sideswipe's chassis. "Thanks."

"You do not look to be at optimal functioning capacity," Ratchet says. "My sensors indicate you are running at a temperature hotter than what is deemed healthy to your species. I should run more thorough scans to distinguish a cause."

She shakes her head. "Don't bother, Ratchet. It's probably just stress. Nothing a little sleep won't cure."

"But the soldiers seem to be fine."

"That's because they're used to this sort of thing."

"Excuse me," Epps says, "but I'm not used to giant alien robots shooting at me."

Ari chuckles softly. "Okay, well, you're better at handling it than me, how's that?"

"Still not so sure about that. You did good out there today, kid, including facing your old man."

"Speaking of which," Lennox says. "You going to tell us the whole story now?"

Sideswipe looks down at Ari. "You've decided to tell them? Both Lennox and Epps?"

Ari nods. "Yeah. Considering everything, I don't have a choice anymore. It's now or never."

Everyone gathers around her, including the Autobots. They know what's going on but have never seen the extent of the damage it has left on her skin, except for Ratchet with his scans that is.

The first step is always the hardest. Whoever said that, Ari doesn't know, but it's so very true. One step, that's all it takes and everything will be out in the open. But it's just so _hard_. It's hard to admit her weakness. It's hard to admit that she's broken. Especially when this isn't something anyone can just fix. But it's a step she has to take is she's ever going to get away from Ron. If she's ever going to move on.

If she's ever going to get the chance to heal.

So, she gets Sideswipe to set her down, she stands on her own two feet, and rolls up her sleeves. She can't look at them as she does it, can't see their reactions, but she does hear Epps let out a string of curses. Ironhide does the same, at least she thinks he does since he speaks in Cybertronian.

Lennox steps up next to her, as close as he dares without making her uncomfortable. She can see his boots as she continues to stare at the ground. "Ari," he says. "Ari, look at me." She does. "You see this scar?" He points to a jagged line of light pink tissue just above his right eyebrow. "I got it when I was seventeen. My dad decided to throw a beer bottle at me and I wasn't fast enough."

She lowers her arms, staring at him wide-eyed. "You…your father abused you, too?"

He nods. "Started when I was fifteen after my mom died of cancer. My dad never recovered. Turned to the bottle instead. Lasted until I was eighteen when I enlisted in the army. He died while I was in training. He was driving drunk and drifted into oncoming traffic." He lowers his head so his eyes are level with hers. "I'm telling you all this so you believe me when I say I understand how you feel. You're scared and confused. Don't understand why you're dad would do this to you. There's nothing you can do to stop it, although you feel like there should be, so your inability to say or do the right thing makes you feel useless and weak." She flinches. "But let me tell you something. You are _not_ any of those things."

Her brow furrows. "How can you say that?"

"Because what you're doing right now, showing me and Epps, making the decision to get away from your dad, it shows how strong you are. You're a lot stronger than I was. I just endured it until I was old enough to run away. I never told anyone, not until my wife, Sarah, came along. So don't let anyone, not even yourself, say that you are weak. Because you're not, Ari. You really aren't. What happened isn't your fault. It's his. And there was nothing you could have done to stop it except what you are doing right now."

Ari stares at him in shock, uncertain what to say. She hasn't even known Lennox for twenty-four hours and he's already one of the strongest people she knows. He's fought in wars, human and now alien. Not many people would be able to fight against giant alien robots and live. Not many people would stand up for a girl they hardly know either. Or save a complete stranger who's also an alien.

So when he says _he's_ the weak one compared to her, that he wasn't strong enough to stop his father's abuse, it's…incomprehensible.

Tears form in Ari's eyes. One leaks out, slowly falling down her face leaving a warm trail that quickly turns cold. Another soon follows on the opposite cheek. And then another and another. Uncontrollable sobs begin to escape from her chest. She tries to hold it all in, but there is no stopping it. It's just too much emotion all at once. All she can do is cover her face with her hands and let it all out.

"It's okay," she hears Lennox say. "Everything is gonna be okay."

* * *

Once she calms down Ari tells the whole story from the beginning. Things get…interesting a few times. Like when she shows them the scars on her stomach. Optimus has to basically order Ironhide not to go hunt down the "fragging human" and terminate him. Then there's when she has to explain the events that led to her finally deciding to get out. She has to tell them about her father almost…raping her. It's almost harder than first showing them her scars. Lennox and Epps understood right away and use every ounce of their military training to not go after her father themselves. The Autobots, of course, don't understand, so Sideswipe and Sunstreaker explain it to them quietly over the Comm Link.

Then Ironhide transforms and starts to speed down the tunnel. It takes Optimus, Jazz, and Ratchet together to drag him back. Ari laughs harder than she ever has before. She can understand why Sideswipe and Sunstreaker like to pull pranks on Ironhide. He can be hilarious when he's mad. So long as it's not directed at them.

When Ironhide is back in the hanger, under Optimus's watchful optic, Epps keeps the laughter going and topics switch over to the more jovial. It's like back in the conference room all over again except now the Autobots are with them. They talk about their lives, both before and during the war, although avoiding the topic of the war itself. There's a lot of Sideswipe and Sunstreaker talking about their pranks, which Lennox and Epps find amusing. Ironhide, not so much, but he tolerates it.

They're trying to keep Ari happy, she can tell, and just the thought of that makes her happy. It's like…they're a family. They actually care about her like family is supposed to.

But the happy atmosphere is shattered when a group of people come from out of the tunnel. Secretary Keller, Banachek, Simmons, and Ron. Ron is still covered in paint, looking about ready to wring someone's neck because of it, but when he sees the Autobots for what they really are his face pales and he stops several feet behind the others. Ari can't help but smirk but his presence still makes her feel uneasy, making her stick close to Sideswipe's leg.

Lennox and Epps solute to the Defense Secretary. "Sir," they say together.

Keller dismisses them with a tired wave of his hand, looking worn out from the day's events and the long discussions between the Autobots and world leaders after.

"What are you three doing in here?" Banachek demands angrily. "You shouldn't be in here. You should be in the conference room with the others."

"We were discussing some important information with the Autobots," Lennox replies evenly.

"You do not have authorization to be in here!"

"Stand down, Banachek," Keller says. "I believe after today these three have earned a little leniency." Banachek shuts his mouth and Keller smiles before continuing. "Now, Captain Lennox, I have something I would like to discuss with you."

"Yes, sir?" Lennox says.

"As you know, earlier today the Autobots and the leaders of the world created a treaty outlining the terms and conditions to their being allowed to stay on our planet. This included the creation of a special task force made up of Autobots and human soldiers from around the globe that will be in charge of neutralizing any existing and forthcoming Decepticon threats. This task force will be funded by a number of countries, but the United States is going to be a majority contributer, meaning we will be put in direct responsibility for its running. General Morshower has already agreed to the job but we still need someone to directly oversee its operation. I have nominated you, Lennox. Morshower agreed that you are our best option considering your experience in the past but also especially today. So what do you say, soldier? Are you up for the job?"

Lennox stands in slight shock at such an offer. He looks up at Optimus in thought and then he looks at Ari. She's not sure why he would look to her for advice on what to do in a situation like this, but she gives him a small smile and a nod. Ari knows it will be a lot of responsibility thrust upon his shoulders but she agrees with Keller, he's perfect for it.

He looks back to the Secretary. "I accept, sir."

Keller smiles. "Very well. I shall see to the particulars of your reassignment. Exactly where the base for the new task force will be has yet to be decided, but when it is it will be several months before everything is operational. Until everything is ready you have been taken off of active duty and may spend the time with your family. You will be notified when you will start your new position."

Lennox fights the smile threatening to grace his face but it is hard. He solutes. "Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."

"Speaking of going home," Simmons says, "you all should be able to start heading that way soon. Just need to fill out a nondisclosure agreement then you can get out of our hair. Good riddance if you ask me. If I _ever_ find out who did the paint bomb," he eyes everyone suspiciously, especially Ari since she's having a hard time not laughing, and apparently Sides and Sunny are good at bluffing, "you are going to be mincemeat when I'm through with you."

Keller, Simmons, and Banachek turn to leave, but Ron does not, instead walking forward with purpose towards Ari.

"Come along, Arianna," he says, keeping his eyes on her and away from the Autobots. "You heard him, it's time to go home." He reaches for her arm but Sideswipe is faster, reaching down for her and lifting her up to sit on his forearm.

"She's not going anywhere with you," Sideswipe growls.

Ron looks up at him in shock and no little amount of fear, but then anger quickly takes the foreground. "She is _my_ daughter and she is coming with me. You cannot hold her captive."

"It's not captivity if I want to stay," Ari calls down nervously. She's not sure how well this is going to go, but if she's going to get away from him, the time would be now.

The two agents and Secretary turn back to look at Ari curiously. Simmons sighs and walks back to stand next to her father. "Look, I know you're all chummy with the aliens and whatnot," he says, "but you can't stay here. It's time for you to go, little lady."

"She can't leave with him," Lennox says. "Her father has been abusing her."

The three of them stand there in silent shock.

Keller looks between the father and daughter. "Is this true?"

Ari nods. "I-it is."

Ron looks at her in cold fury. "This is ridiculous! I would _never _abuse my own daughter. This is some kind of corruption caused by those monsters!"

Ari's own anger flashes in her pale blue eyes. "I'm not lying. It's the truth. We have proof."

"And what would that be?" Banachek says, unconvinced.

Ratchet steps forward. "I have taken in-depth scans of Ari's body that dictate she has been severely injured multiple times during the past ten years." A hologram shines down from his optics to appear in front of the men showing a summary of his results.

Ron crosses his arms in front of his chest. "And we're just supposed to take the word of a bunch of aliens?"

"I'm sure if your own doctors conduct their own examinations they will find the same results."

"Her being hurt still does not mean that I am the cause."

"Maybe not," Sideswipe says, "but this does." He turns on his own hologram while quickly covering Ari's eyes to keep her from seeing. The quick glance she gets of the footage of her father's bedroom taken through the window with her father on top of her on the bed is all she needs to know as to why. She turns her face towards his chassis. Sideswipe is showing them what he saw the day Ron almost raped her. Nothing can be heard, but it is clear to everyone what was going on.

When it is finished Sideswipe lowers his hand again. Ari can see the sickened faces of Keller, Simmons, and Banachek.

Then all Pit breaks loose.

Ron punches Simmons, the closest target, instantly sending him down, and runs towards the exit. But before he's even a tenth of the way there Epps is tackling him to the ground with Lennox right behind, a pair of handcuffs given to him by Banachek in hand and quickly placed around Ron's wrists.

"You're not going anywhere," Epps says as he hauls Ron to his feet. "So, where do you want him?"

Simmons gets to his feet, shifting his aching jaw back and forth to make sure it still works. "We have a nice little detention center for scum like him." He then takes Ron by the arm and begins to drag him away with Ron kicking and screaming all the way.

"I am truly sorry for what has been done to you," Keller says to her. "How long was it going on for?"

Ari sighs, wondering how many times yet she's going to have to go through all of it, but figuring it necessary. "About ten years."

He nods sadly. "I'll contact Child Protective Services and alert them to the situation. Is there any other family you would like me to call that can take care of you?"

"No," she says sadly. "My mother left a long time ago and I have no other living relatives."

"You don't want me to call your mother?"

"No. She's no better than him."

He nods again. "Very well. You'll have to be placed in a foster home then."

Ari gulps and leans into Sideswipe further. "Can't I just stay with the Autobots?"

"We would be more than happy to take care of her," Optimus agrees.

"Not in a million years," Banachek says. "No court would ever agree to that. What would a bunch of aliens know about taking care of a human girl?"

Optimus sighs but nods, knowing it has to be the humans' decision. "Then at least allow Sideswipe to accompany her. He has already expressed his wishes to become her permanent Guardian and Ari has accepted."

"That can probably be arranged," Keller says. "So long as Sideswipe does not reveal himself to anyone, understood?"

"Of course," Sideswipe says eagerly.

"No."

Everyone looks at Lennox in surprise, shifting from foot to foot in agitation.

"Lennox it's okay," Ari says, trying to sound cheerful. She doesn't like the idea of a foster home either. "I have nowhere else to go. This was inevitable, you know that."

"No, it's not." He looks at Keller with determination etched into every muscle, ready for a fight if necessary. "I'll take her in."

Ari gasps. "What?"

Lennox looks up at her. "You can stay with me. I have a big farmhouse only a few hours drive from here and I already know my wife won't mind."

Banachek raises an eyebrow in disbelief. "Really?"

"You don't know my wife," Lennox says with a smirk.

Ari stares down at him, hoping beyond hope. She has to ask again, just to be sure. "Are you sure? I mean, I won't be any trouble or anything?"

"Of course it's no trouble, Ari. After today you're practically family anyway."

Ari grins at him brightly in gratitude.

But before she can say anything her headache she's had for the past several hours suddenly spikes. She cries out in pain, clutching her head with both hands. It feels like someone is driving a hot poker through her skull and then the heat of it is slowly spreading throughout her body. The heat gets really intense on the inside of her left arm right below her elbow.

Several people call out her name, asking what's wrong. She knows one of them is Sideswipe but she can hardly make reality out anymore. There is only the pain.

And a voice.

"_Power such as this can never be destroyed, only transformed."_

And then everything goes black.

* * *

**_Author's Note_**

_*runs behind Optimus* Just remember, if you kill me, you don't get anymore story!  
_

_Anyway, lots of good stuff. People know about the abuse now. Ari is going to be getting away finally. I'm going to try to do stuff with the actual trial but as I was looking up the specifics of what exactly goes on in order for Ari to be fully taken out of Ron's custody, well, let's just say that I don't understand lawyer speak. But I'll do the best I can._

_But be warned, this won't be the last we see of him! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!_

_Also got Ari going to stay with Lennox. Looking forward to that. But, what I'm most looking forward to, is dealing with the stuff in the cliffhanger. You'll finally see where I'm going to be going with all of this._

_But enough said. Hope you enjoyed, PLEASE REVIEW, and see you all next time!_


	11. Marked

_**Author's Note**_

_Well...it a good thing none of you know where I live. Sorry it's been so long since I last updated. I didn't mean to let this happen, especially with the big cliffy I left you all with last chapter, but it couldn't be helped. School got in the way and I had to write two 4-6 page essays in one week. Yeah...not fun. Plus I had major writer's block. This chapter was just soooooo hard to write. No idea why, it just was. Oh well, it's done now and you all get to read it. That's all that matters.  
_

_And I'm sorry but I'm too tired right now to do reviews. I promise that I'll respond next chapter._

_Guess that's everything. Onward!  
_

* * *

_**Marked**_

A searing light shines through Ari's eyelids, abruptly bringing her back into consciousness. She groans, eyelids fluttering open, as she tries to discern her surroundings. Once her foggy mind clears she sees that the bright light is the sun hanging high in the sky, turning the air hot and dry. When did she end up outside?

The surface she is lying on shifts with every movement and she sits up, getting a good look around.

She's in the middle of a desert at the base of several mountain peaks that have seemingly been weathered over hundreds of years to where some of the jagged rocks look like teeth pointing up to the sky.

She stares around her in disbelief. "What…the…frag…?"

A soft chuckling floats on the wind to Ari's ears with a slight robotic edge to it. Out from behind the mountains six Cybertronians step forward. They look to be old, older than any Cybertronian she has ever seen before, with skinny, almost skeletal frames that give them a fragile appearance. However, the graceful way in which they move and the authoritative air that surrounds them makes Ari believe they hold a hidden strength not determined by appearances. The strange headdresses they wear, not unlike those warn by pharaohs of ancient Egypt, only cement this idea.

Ari gets to her feet warily, dusting the sand off of her jeans. "Who…Who are you?"

"We are the six original Primes," one of them says, the one who had chuckled by the sound of his voice, "created by Primus himself and we, in turn, used the AllSpark to create the rest of the Cybertronian race."

"I thought there were seven of you? That's what Sideswipe told me."

Another Prime sighs sadly, this one distinctly feminine. "Yes, in the beginning there were seven, but the seventh was corrupted by Primus's brother, Unicron, and turned against us."

"Who's Unicron?" When she and Sideswipe got to talking about the origin story of the Cybertronians she had been fascinated, but there's only so much she could learn in a couple of hours. All she knows is about Primus, the original Primes, and the AllSpark.

"There is no time for that," a burly-looking Prime says agitatedly, the largest of the six. "The human femme will wake up in a few moments."

"Wait, I'm asleep?" It certainly feels real enough. She can feel the heat reflecting off of the sand causing her to sweat in her long sleeves.

The first Prime who spoke nods. "Yes, we have come to you in your dreams. The reason is because of the AllSpark. It allows us to do so."

"But I thought I destroyed the AllSpark?"

"A power as great as the AllSpark's can never be destroyed, only transformed." The words send a jolt through Ari. She's heard them before. "What you destroyed was the AllSpark's vessel. Its power is still very much in existence."

"Where is it?"

"It now resides in you, Ari," the femme Prime says.

Ari stares at them blankly, waiting for the punchline but they're looking at her in all seriousness. "You're not kidding, are you?"

"No, we are not," the first Prime says. "See for yourself. The AllSpark has left its mark on your arm."

Quickly shoving up her sleeves she examines both arms. Sure enough, there on the inside of her left arm, just below her elbow, is a black Cybertronian symbol about the size of a fifty cent piece with a cube-like shape, appearing to have been tattooed onto her skin but she knows she never did such a thing. She's seen it before, on the AllSpark. It's the largest of all the symbols that glowed when the AllSpark healed Sideswipe and Jazz. She touches it with a fingertip and it glows the same soft blue. "H-how is this even possible?"

"When the Cube was destroyed the AllSpark needed a new vessel. You were the closest thing capable of containing it because of your human brain. Humans only use a small percentage of their brains, the rest lying dormant, unused. The AllSpark's energy was able to merge with your brain and fill up all of the unused space."

Ari gulps. "Am I…Am I going to change because of this? Am I even still human?"

"You will remain mostly human and your outward appearance will remain mostly unchanged aside from the marks you will gain on your skin."

"Gain? You mean there will be more?"

"Yes. For now, most of the AllSpark's power will lie dormant inside of you, only to be unlocked when you have earned the right to use it. When that will be, only Primus knows, but for each new ability you will gain a new mark."

"Will it hurt? Like before?"

The femme looks at her sadly. "Yes. But with these powers you will be able to help our race. And your own."

Ari's gut clenches. "But we defeated the Decepticons. Megatron is dead. I thought the war was over now."

"The Decepticons are not through with your planet," the largest Prime says. Ari's heart drops. "They will return sometime in the near future and in greater numbers. To defeat them you will need the power the AllSpark grants you."

So much weight is being shoved on her shoulders all at once. She is now no longer 100% human. She is the AllSpark, a sacred relic to the Cybertronians, the key to their race's survival. And now apparently her own.

Everything around her suddenly begins to fade away. "We are out of time," the first Prime says.

She begins to panic. "Wait! Don't go! What if I can't do it? What if I can't figure it all out in time? What if…What if I fail?"

He smiles. "I have faith in you, Ari. Primus chose you for a reason. If you were not capable of succeeding you would not have been the one to receive the AllSpark's power." The Primes are almost completely gone now, their faces and voices beginning to appear far-off. "Good luck, Ari! We shall meet again."

And then everything becomes black again.

* * *

Ari awakens with a gasp, her eyes flying open, and she swiftly sits up. Her eyes dart back and forth, not recognizing her surroundings, the white room or the white bed she lays in. Looking down at herself she sees that she's wearing a hospital gown that leaves her arms uncovered.

There, on her left arm, is the mark from her dream. The mark of the AllSpark.

Ari's heart quickens and she hears the heart monitor she is connected to quicken with it. It wasn't just a dream. It was real. All of it was real.

"Hey, hey, take it easy," someone says, a familiar someone. Sitting to her left is Sideswipe's holoform, his gray shirt and messy black hair looking rumpled, a sign he's been there for a while. He gets up and approaches her, reaching out a hand as if to touch her arm, but when she inches her arm away from him he remembers and lets it drop. He gives her an apologetic half-smile. "You scared the slag out of me, you know that?"

She chuckles softly. "It wasn't on purpose. Trust me." She adjusts her pillow so she can sit up more comfortably. "How long was I out?"

"A few hours. Everyone's gone home now. Though those two stayed behind for you." He nods towards the other side of her bed where Lennox and Epps sit in two plastic chairs with slumped heads, passed out. "They were really worried about you. We all were."

Ari smiles softly. They had been so tired before. How long did they hold off exhaustion just because of her before succumbing to it? And what about Sideswipe and the others? How long has it been since they last recharged?

"Well, now that you're up I'm going to go get Ratchet," Sideswipe says. "He'll want to check on you, make sure you're okay."

Ari shakes her head. "It's not necessary. I'm fine."

Sideswipe's holoform raises an eyebrow. "Ari, you were writhing in pain, that thing," he points to her mark, "was burned onto your skin or whatever, and then you passed out. That's practically the definition of not fine."

"It's okay, Sideswipe, I really am fine. I know what happened to me and it was…well…I was going to say normal but that's not the right word for it. I guess you could say, it was supposed to happen?"

"Supposed to happen?"

"Yep. Now where are my clothes?" She spots them on the nightstand next to her and picks them up. "Never mind. Next question, where are the others? I need to talk to all of you about what happened."

"So you know what happened." He doesn't sound convinced.

She rolls her eyes. "Yes, I know what happened." She gets up and moves passed him to the bathroom so she can change before Sideswipe has a chance to stop her. Before closing the door she looks back at him. "Oh, and can you wake up Lennox and Epps? They're probably going to want to hear this, too."

Once she is safely locked in the bathroom she allows her fear to wash over her.

She's the AllSpark. That one thought keeps going through her head over and over again. Ari bites her lip. She's really unsure how she feels about all of this. If she thought her life was starting to drastically change before, this is beyond change. This is life-altering. She literally will never be the same again. She takes comfort in the fact that her appearance won't change in anyway, but what other consequences will there be? What powers will she gain and how is that going to affect her life? What if the Decepticons find out? Will they try to get a hold of her? What if they succeed? Although, surely the Autobots won't let that happen.

Her eyes light up in realization. Her life is now inexplicably linked to Sideswipe's and the other Autobots' in a way that cannot be broken. Whatever happens now, they will always be a part of her life and she a part of theirs. That thought makes her smile.

Ari looks down at her hands. They look the same and yet are now so different. She's the AllSpark. Power courses through her veins.

Will she be able to live up to Primus's expectations? Can she fulfill whatever plans he has for her? She closes her fingers into fists. She's certainly willing to try. For the Autobots. For the human race.

And also for herself.

After Ari is back in her ripped, sweaty, dirty clothes, unfortunately she has nothing else to wear, she exits the bathroom and Sideswipe, Lennox, and Epps are standing near the doorway waiting for her.

Lennox smiles in relief. "Hey, kid, you feeling okay?"

"Never better," she says.

"Never better?" Epps asks. "Man, after what you just went through I thought it'd be at least a week before you woke up."

Lennox laughs and then places his hand on Epps's shoulder. "Rob, no one sleeps that much except you."

Epps holds up his index finger. "One time. One time I don't wake up when a our camp gets ambushed at night and still the jokes continue. When are you going to let up on a brother?"

"Not until I find someone else who can sleep through a fire fight."

Everyone laughs while Epps looks at Lennox indigently. When they die down Sideswipe says, "Well, we better get going. The others are waiting for us." They all file out into the hallway with Lennox and Epps in the lead.

"So where are the others?" Ari asks.

"In the hanger," Sides answers. "Since you're apparently well enough to be up and about Ratchet wants to do a full systems scan." He shudders. "I don't envy you."

Ari grins. "What, you don't like doctors?"

"Pit no. I avoid the Hatchet's mandatory medical exams whenever possible." He smiles mischievously. "Including the one I still haven't had to endure yet after the Mission City battle."

"Oh, you know it's coming eventually."

"Yeah, I know, but it's fun to avoid it. It bugs the slag out of ol' Hatchet. Although it can get a little messy once he starts throwing wrenches."

"He starts throwing wrenches?"

He nods. "Oh, yeah. Word to the wise, when the wrenches start flying run for your life."

When they enter the hanger Sideswipe's holoform disappears and he gets up to stand with the other Autobots in their bipedal forms. Right away Ratchet leans down to grab Ari around the middle to bring her closer. He sets her in his hand so he can start running his scans, a red light shining over her body and making her tingle uncomfortably all over.

"Ratchet, seriously," Ari says, "I'm fine."

"Are you Chief Medical Officer," he asks, still focused on scanning her.

"Uh, no."

"Then hush, youngling, and let me work. It will only take a few more kliks."

Ari huffs, crossing her arms, but says nothing else.

Just as he says, in a few minutes he nods to himself in approval. "Everything does seem to be alright. However," his optics ridges furrow in confusion, "you do appear to be exhibiting levels of AllSpark energy which…shouldn't be possible."

"Is it dangerous?" Sideswipes asks worriedly.

"According to my scanners nothing damaging has occurred to her systems but I should probably take a followup exam in a few Earth days just to be sure."

"But Ratchet, it really isn't necessary," Ari begs.

"I don't care. You _will_ undergo another exam in a few days even if I have to chase you down."

She sighs. "Fine, if it will make you feel better. But there really isn't anything wrong with me and nothing else is going to happen for a while, at least, that's what the Primes told me."

All of the Autobots stare at her in shock.

"Did you just say…the Primes?" Optimus asks.

"Yep. The six Primes. They told me what happened. Although, I'm still working on believing it myself. Maybe once I start getting those powers they told me about it'll all seem more real." She looks down at her hands. "I mean, I don't feel any different but I am."

Optimus reaches out and takes Ari from Ratchet, lifting her until she is very high off the ground in front of his face. "Ari, please explain. How is it you were able to meet the Primes?"

"Who _are_ the Primes?" Lennox calls up.

Optimus looks at the others and then they all kneel down on the ground in front of the humans so that it is easier to talk to one another.

_There's going to have to be something we can build to make talking between humans and Autobots easier, _Ari thinks as Optimus sets her back on the ground to stand with Lennox and Epps. _This height difference is going to get annoying real fast for everyone, I can already tell._

"The Primes are a part of our history," Optimus explains. "Before time began, there was the AllSpark. We know not where it comes from, only that it holds the power to create worlds and fill them with life. That is how our race was born. It started with the creation of two beings, brothers, twins, known as Primus and Unicron. Together, they used the Cube to build the universe. But Unicron became tired of creation, instead seeking to destroy it. He would not be sated until his ultimate goal was attained: to bring an end to the annoying creation boasting independence around him, and find peace by becoming the living center of a swirling, infinite torrent of nothingness at the end of all things. Primus did not see things as his brother did. He cared for creation, not loathed it. And so, the two brothers fought, both equally matched in strength. Seeing no end to the fight, Primus created the first seven Cybertronians to aid him in the battle, the seven original Primes. With their help, Primus was able to defeat Unicron. Primus then gave the duty of creation to the Primes, entrusting them with the AllSpark. What happened to Primus after that, we do not know."

"And these dudes talked to Ari?" Epps asks. "How?"

Everyone looks at Ari, the same question in their eyes or optics.

"Well," she begins uncertainly. How does she explain this to where they'll believe her? "They came to me in a dream." That doesn't sound convincing, but oh well. It's the truth. "They said they were able to because of the AllSpark."

"But I thought yah destroyed the AllSpark when yah shoved it into ol' Megatron's chest," Jazz says, "right?"

"Yes, and no. Yes, I destroyed the Cube but they said that the AllSpark is so powerful that it cannot be destroyed completely, only become something else. The power transferred from the Cube into me."

"So what you're saying is that you're the AllSpark now?" Sunstreaker asks, unconvinced.

Ari scratches the back of her head. "Yeah. Pretty much. I can't do everything the Cube could do yet. They said that I have to prove myself before the powers will unlock inside of me, and for each power I get, a new mark will form." She looks down at the mark on her arm and touches a fingertip to the black skin. As soon as she touches it the mark glows.

"Holy Primus," Ironhide whispers in awe.

"I think you got that dead on, 'Hide," Sideswipe says.

All of the Cybertronians are looking at her in such reverence that it makes Ari uncomfortable. Who do they see right now, Ari or the AllSpark? She wraps her arms around herself and looks away, not really sure what to do now. She didn't want them to start thinking differently of her.

"Ari," Optimus says and she looks up from beneath her lashes. He's smiling at her. A warm smile. A comforting smile. "I am sorry."

She looks up at him in confusion. "Why are you sorry?"

"Because we have uprooted your life in more ways than we ever intended. We never meant for you to become this. But I believe it is Primus's will and he could not have chosen a better person to bestow the AllSpark's power on."

"Do you…Do you really think so?" She looks down at her feet. "The Primes said that things are going to get bad again, that the Decepticons are going to come back sometime soon, and that we'll need the AllSpark's power to stop them. Do you really think I can do it?"

Ari is suddenly hoisted into the air and she lets out a surprised squeak. Sideswipe places her on his shoulder and gives her a confident smirk. "Of course you can," he says. "You're the most awesome human I know. Right, Sunny?"

Sunstreaker huffs. "You're okay for a human, I'll give you that."

Ari laughs. "That's a compliment, coming from you."

He rolls his optics.

"You can do it, Ari," Jazz says. "We all know yah can. Jus' look at what yah've already accomplished. And if things go wrong, not only will these two bigheads be there to back yah up, but the rest o' us will, too."

"Thanks, guys," she says with a smile. Then she looks down at Lennox and Epps who are talking between themselves. "How do you two think about all of this? You're not…weirded out, are you?"

"No," Lennox says quickly. "Of course not. It's definitely…unexpected, but considering everything else that's happened over the past few days, it's not the craziest thing ever."

"We were just wondering though," Epps says. "What should we tell the other humans about all this? I mean, they were ready to start experimenting on Sideswipe here. What would the do to Ari if they found out?"

Ari bites her lip. She hadn't thought about that yet. Would the government still treat her as human if they found out? Or would they want to dissect her?

"Keeping secrets is not something I wished to do with your leaders," Optimus says, "but I believe the decision should be Ari's. If you think you would be in danger and do not wish to let others know, then we will support your decision."

So it's up to her. But she really has no idea what she should do. She looks at Lennox. "What do you think?"

He sighs tiredly. "Well, there's really no good answer. We've all seen the movies and humans already have a history of not liking the unusual and different. The worst-case scenario is definitely a possibility."

It really all comes down to one question: How will they react? With acceptance or disgust or even just plain curiosity? She doesn't want to become a science experiment, but she doesn't want to force the Autobots to lie for her either. All lasting relationships are built upon trust, not a foundation of lies. And lies always come out in the end. She's proof of that. Ari thought she would always have to live through her father's abuse, but the truth came out. Sure, she helped it along, but not at first. She never meant for Sideswipe to find out. It's very likely that the secret that she's the AllSpark will come out eventually. Actually, it's practically guaranteed. The Primes said that she'll need to use the AllSpark's power in order to help stop the Decepticons. There's probably no subtle way she can do that. She won't be able to keep this secret forever, especially once she starts getting her powers. They'll find out. And when they do things will get ugly.

She takes a deep breath, hoping she's making the right decision. "We'll tell them."

Lennox and Epps look at her in surprise. "You sure?" Lennox asks.

"Yes, I'm sure. But just the world's leaders. I don't want anyone else finding out, especially the public once they find out you guys exist, whenever that'll be. I want to be truthful but it should be kept quiet as much as possible. I still want to be able to go to school and stuff without people looking at me like I've got two heads."

Optimus nods. "Very well. I'm sure we can come to an agreement with your leaders. We shall notify them tomorrow when we speak again for continued talks of the treaty. I will make sure it is written out that no one is allowed to touch you and no one else is to know unless you yourself give permission."

"And if they don't listen, we will protect you, Ari," Sideswipe says. "Promise."

Ari leans her head against his, closing her eyes. "I know you will."

* * *

_**Author's Note  
**_

_And that's the end of that one. Hope you all liked it cause I didn't. I don't know why, I just couldn't get this chapter satisfactory so I kind of just gave up. XD _

_Hope you like where I'm going with the AllSpark stuff. It's not something I've seen done before so you won't get bored with it...hopefully. And no, I'm not turning Ari Cybertronian. I like the idea of her staying human. But that's just me. So that's what I'm going with._

_And I was wondering, did Ari's decision not to keep the AllSpark stuff a secret from human leaders, and her reasons for making that decision, seem realistic? I went this way because, for one thing, it really would have been hard to keep this stuff a secret, it also makes her being able to visit the Autobots on the base easier (cause I wouldn't think without a good reason she, a civilian, would be allowed on base), and I was thinking about for when Galloway arrives (I wanted to do some funny stuff for that). And if it's not realistic...well...oh well. Guess that's why it's fanfiction._

_Next chapter Ari goes home with Lennox so we get to see Sarah. And her reaction to the Autobots. _

_Alrighty, hope you enjoyed, PLEASE REVIEW, and see you all next time!_


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